Responsible parents put the power tools, strong drinks, firearms, and toxic cleaning supplies out the reach of our children. We kid-proof our homes as much as possible. Ironically, we buy them toy power tools, cap-guns, and pretend cleaning supplies. We don’t hand them a bottle of whiskey and say, “knock yourself out, junior.†But, give them some apple juice in a shot glass and they’ll pretend they are “oh so grown up.â€
It is striking, however, that while it is good and right to kid-proof our homes. God doesn’t kid-proof His home. This table isn’t us pretending to partake of Christ, we are really partaking of Him. We are God’s children. Our Father hands us something far more potent than any chop-saw, Lysol, Ak-47, or Jack Daniels you have at home, and tells us to partake. This isn’t plastic Jesus, pretend Jesus, or psudeo-Jesus. Our Father gives us the real thing. He doesn’t water it down or buy that cheap knock-off version.
The reason we kid-proof our homes is so that our children are best taken care of. God cares for us by giving us undiluted Gospel. The best thing for a child of God is to feel the prick of conviction, the warning against sin, the comfort of the Gospel, the potent kick of Christ indwelling and enthroned. This bread and wine packs quite the punch, and our Father wants the full dosage for His children.
This is why you need to form the habit of of preaching the Gospel to yourself. Meditate upon it, think about it, apply it, believe it. If you don’t preach this whole Gospel to yourself, Satan will be happy to preach half the Gospel to you. Either he’ll rub your sin in your face telling you how filthy and vile you are, accusing you of all your guilt, convincing you that God would never accept you as you are. OR he preaches to you how good you are, how God must be so proud of you, you’ve got your act so together, God could never find any fault with you, unlike all these other shlubs. He loves to offer you a plastic Gospel, a fake Gospel, a half Gospel. The plastic Gospel of accusation, or the plastic Gospel of self-righteousness, are both poison on their own.
The fact is, you need to preach the full Gospel to yourself daily. You are a guilty sinner, but Christ has reconciled you. You are loved by God, but not for your own goodness. It’s grace alone by which you are saved. The Father wants you to down the whole, potent Gospel. With all its power, efficacy, and truth. Satan is content to let you settle for his watered down half-truth, version of the Gospel.
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