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Enjoy today’s devotional!

Let me say something that sounds a little wild at first, but stay with me because the Bible backs it up in more ways than you might expect. If life were fair you would be on a cross. Not Jesus. You. Me. All of us.

And that is not meant to guilt you. It is actually the setup for why the gospel is the best news in the universe.

The Bible is painfully honest about the human condition. Romans says everyone has sinned and fallen short. Isaiah says every one of us has wandered off like sheep who think the fence is optional. First John says if you pretend you have no sin, you are lying to yourself. The Bible goes out of its way to make this clear. If fairness were the system God used, the consequences would fall exactly where the guilt sits.

And Scripture does not soften that. Romans says the wage of sin is death. Ezekiel says the soul who sins will die. Fairness would hand the bill to the person who ran up the charges. That is us. That is why I say if life were fair you would be on a cross.

But here is the plot twist the New Testament will not stop repeating. God refuses to treat you fairly. In Psalm one hundred three it literally says He does not treat us as our sins deserve. Instead He treats us according to His mercy. Paul says in Romans five that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Not after effort. Not after improvement. Right in the middle of the mess.

Second Corinthians five says Jesus became sin for us so we could become the righteousness of God. First Peter two says Jesus carried our sins in His body on the cross so we could live in a new way. Isaiah fifty three says the punishment that brought us peace was on Him. The entire chapter is a long description of Jesus absorbing what we earned so that we could receive what He earned.

Fairness never does that. Only love does.

And think about Jesus Himself. In John ten He says no one takes His life. He lays it down on purpose. In Mark ten He says He came to give His life as a ransom. That means someone willingly steps in and pays the cost someone else cannot. Again, completely unfair. Wonderfully unfair.

When you understand that, the cross stops being a symbol of guilt and turns into a symbol of rescue. You stop trying to earn what has already been given. You stop performing for a God who already moved in your direction before you even looked in His.

So here is the real truth. If God ran the world on fairness, you would be on a cross. But God chose mercy. God chose compassion. God chose to pay your cost Himself. And the moment you understand that, you stop fearing God and start loving Him back.

When you’re not sure how to pray, A.C.T.S. gives you a simple path to follow: Adore, Confess, Thank, and Ask.

Adoration: God, You are full of mercy and kindness. Your love is nothing like fairness.

Confession: I am a sinner. Without Jesus I could never stand.

Thanksgiving: Thank you for taking my place on the cross.

Supplication: Help me live grateful, love people well, and remember the cross every day.

In Jesus name, Amen

“WASHED” by Elevation Rhythm

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See you tomorrow,

Zach and the Daily Devotion team