Who Am I

John Stott said, “Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you.  It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’  Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross.  All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary.  It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.”

As we approach the Easter season we not only need to meditate on who Jesus is but who we are.  As we grow in grace, it should lead us to greater humility not less.  Too often that is not the case.   There are too many Christians who grow so much in their righteousness that they forget that they are sinners.  We become proud Christians which is an oxymoron.  We must always remember the words of Martin Luther who reminded us that we are at the same time just and sinner. 

When we forget who we are, we look down on people in the world as if we are better than them.  When we forget who we are, we spend more time criticizing the faults of our fellow believers than we consider our critical attitude.  When we forget who we are, we forget the meaning of the cross.

Paul in one of his later books, 1 Timothy says that Christ died to save sinners of whom I am the foremost.  The longer Paul was a Christian, the more sinful Paul considered himself.  Why?  You can hide dirt in the dark but not in the light.  The more time you spend in the light, the more sin you recognize in your life.  I can justify myself when I compare myself with you, but not when I compare myself with God.
Think about it.