I’m forgiven because You were forsaken
I’m accepted, You were condemned
I’m alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again
Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, should die for me
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor You
In all I do, to honor You
You are my King
You are my King
Jesus, You are my King
You are my King
Newsboys
written by Billy James Foote
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This song personifies Easter to me. I love the parallels given in this song—forgiven/forsaken, accepted/condemned, alive/died. All these gifts and blessings are mine because of Jesus’ sacrifice. A sacrifice He willingly chose to make.
He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men,
a Man of sorrows and pains,
and acquainted with grief and sickness;
and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised,
and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.
Isaiah 53:3 AMP
I can’t even find words for this! How is it possible Christ would choose to be treated in this manner? Amazing love indeed! Mark 15:34 (AMP) gives us a glimpse of what Christ experienced:
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?
—which means, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me
[deserting Me and leaving Me helpless and abandoned]?
Jesus was left helpless and abandoned on the Cross so we might be forgiven. God turned His back on His only Son in order to redeem us. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT): “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” We may be persecuted, but we will never be forsaken; struck down, but never destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Because of Christ’s selfless sacrifice, we are accepted and protected by God Himself!
And not only are we accepted, but Romans 8:1 tells us “Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus…”. Christ was condemned in our place so that we could share His robe of righteousness. We will never be condemned by God. It is that robe of righteousness that allows us to stand before God, holy, pure, unblemished and unstained.
Isaiah 61:10 (AMP) talks about why we should feel joy in honoring Him.
I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness….
The opportunity for salvation exists only because of Jesus’ voluntary sacrifice. THAT is amazing love. It is our choice to honor Him with our lives. We should be honored to call Him our King.
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Lord, I cannot even begin to put into words what I feel when I think of all You chose to suffer just so I could be forgiven and accepted. ‘Thank You’ will never be enough to express the depth of my gratitude. It is my joy to honor You in all I do. In Your name I pray, Amen – so be it!
