Welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for this daily challenge. It’s Thursday, the day we try to apply and live out what we’ve learned this week from the Bible. This week we’ve been studying the story of David and Goliath.
Asked yesterday what this had to do with Jesus.
On the cross, Jesus killed a giant. The giant. The one enemy of every human being, that is impossible for us to overcome despire our technology and civilization. Sin and Death.
Even once we’ve cured cancer, eradicated dangerous activity, solved hunger, there will be a 100% death rate.
We weren’t made for this. We were made to live with God in eternity. Know and commune with him personally forever and enjoy his care and love as our God.
But we reversed all that by trying to become gods ourselves – introducing sin and death into our world. Sin means we’ve missed the mark, we are not who were created to be. Death is the natural consequence of sin, of choosing to push the source of life from our lives.
We can’t slay these giants on our own. Stuck at an impasse.
Then a huge suprrise.
God sent Jesus in an unlikely soldier to win this war. Like David, who was not the warrior anyone expected. God sent Jesus – born a homeless baby, raised a refugee, then a carpenter’s son turned itinerant speaker and leader of a strange new religious movement.
That’s who God sent to do battle against death. And it seemed like he went in with nothing – dying on a cross, naked, mocked by a crown of thorns and sign above his head. He had no army follow him into battle – just himself – while his disciples stood on the sidelines.
And yet he was victorious, rising from the dead three days later, having slain the power of sin and death.
Sign that God can do anything, will do it in surprising ways.
We all face giants in our lives – sins we can’t manage to shake, etc. Limitations, hopelessness, etc.
Not meant to be eternal, nor are they meant to be chalelnges we take on alone, as if we are all supposed to copy David. Almost everyone will tell you that – you need to face these challenges with bravery, with perseverance, just try harder. Those are good things, but they’re not enough to face every challenge in life. We’re meant to trust Jesus has already fought this battle for us.
Challenge: What giants in your life can you not overcome? Ask God to intervene and end their tyranny, today.