No Black Clouds

Rom 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”

I love the way Peterson’s paraphrase in The Message renders this passage:

“Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud.”

Don’t you hate having that sense of impending doom?  That awful feeling when you’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop?  I know that I do.  I’ll get myself all worked up and when I go to bed my brain won’t shut off entertaining and rehearsing worst case scenarios.

By all rights that is how it would be for us if not for Christ.  We deserve the very worst. We should stand before the judge with a plea of guilty ready to receive sentencing; the facts of our life condemning us at every turn.

Then the Judge bangs the gavel and says much to our surprise, “Not guilty, for reason of my Son”. 

The black clouds part and a city of gold beckons us to enter. 

“Welcome, good and faithful servant, mighty child of God” comes the invitation.

All we did to deserve this was enter into “Christ’s being here for us”.  Not just a one-time prayer, but an entering into. 

As a result we are called sons and daughters of the Most High God, the Body of Christ, His Bride, friends of God, mighty men and women of God and the list goes on and on.  The beauty of all these names is that they are relational.  They talk not only about our standing with God but our relationship with Him.

We are in Christ, covered by Him, partaking of Him and participating with Him through His Holy Spirit.

Praise be to God that we don’t that we don't need to have that dark cloud of judgment hanging over us.  Instead, we get to partake of His love.

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