You, Lord, are the God of Justice and Righteousness, meaning you must judge and punish sin—which is wonderful because if you weren’t and didn’t, there would be no hope for a solution to evil. Along with being the just Judge, in your mercy you have provided the way for all human beings to avoid judgment by taking that punishment on yourself.
Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for your willingness to enter the land of darkness and death, to shine your light of love on those who hate you. Thank you that you were willing to be abused, beaten, crucified and defeated in the eyes of men. You did this so that every person may have the possibility of being forgiven, of being snatched from the jaws of eternal death and translated into a child of light and love and laughter.
The wonder of it grows as you give me a greater grasp of where I was: under your wrath, in the kingdom of darkness, on the path to destruction, with the host of the condemned, filled with evil and controlled by rebellion. There was no reason for you to choose me, save me, adopt me, love me.
But you yourself are the reason you have done the marvelous, brought about the magnificent and provided a majestic salvation for all your human enemies. You are more than amazing; we must stand in awe of your strong love, your infinite grace, your deep patience, your rich goodness.
You are the One who should fill our vision, absorb our attention and attract our thoughts. Forgive us for being distracted by the tinsel of this world, the worthless fascinations of our hearts and the destructive temptations of our environment.
These all fade into the background when we turn our attention to your beautiful character, your infinite power, your unending love, your eternal goodness, your limitless grace. As we see these more and more, to you we bow, to you we give homage, honor and praise. Then we can rise up to live in the light of your presence, looking only to you, Lord Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Fill us so full of your Spirit that He may overflow into the lives of all we meet today. Help us to daily run the race you have set before us with the endurance and patience you offer, that we may be a light bearer to all around us, opening the way for them to believe, to follow, to trust you, to know you in all your beauty and goodness, that there may be more worshipers in eternity.
