Once and For All

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. –
1 Peter 3:18.

“Once and for all” is a phrase we find ourselves using when speaking to our children. We tend use it as an idol threat. When we tell our kids to do something “once and for all,”
we mean for them to take action immediately and to finish the task.
Whatever task we may take on, whether one at work or one for our children, we expect it to be completed. More so, we expect tasks be completed correctly. We want issues finished, the loose ends tied up – the task at hand labeled “done.”
In the same respect, God expected the sacrifice of Jesus to tie up the loose ends. It was a something only could Jesus do. He came to earth as our ultimate sacrifice, and when all was said and done, the sacrifice was “once and for all.” We were no longer required to offer animal sacrifices. The symbolic lamb, slaughtered once, and offered for the atonement of all our sins was all that was required. Without a doubt, it was an awesome gift.
I am amazed how God thinks things through. Of course, His reasoning if far above what I could ever imagine, but just think, He planned this sacrifice, a part of Him, to go through the ultimate human ending – death. Death is final to us in our understanding. Therefore, God allowed His beloved Son, something precious to Him, to suffer and die; finished in human terms. However, He in all His wisdom took the sacrifice a step further and overcame earth’s finality. Once and for all – one time, for all people, the sacrifice was made. Amazing isn’t it?
The next time the words, “once and for all” leave your mouth as a threat, rethink what they mean in terms of Christ, the sacrificial lamb. He died, once and for all, that we might be brought to God.

Prayer: Precious Lord, You are almighty and we are so unworthy of your righteousness and love. Thank you, Lord for loving us to such a degree.