When I walked into the living room of my future in-laws, I hesitated for a moment. I hardly knew these people, but I wanted to make a favorable impression on them because I had recently become engaged to the only daughter of the family.
In the center of the room, my future father-in-law had a large sea chart spread out on the floor. He was pointing out a location on the map to one of his sons. When he saw me come in, he called me over to join them. “I want to show you something,” he said.
Pointing to a spot on the chart, he said, “This bay next to the town of Ucluelet has some of the prettiest coast you will ever see. I own some property there and thought you might like to know where it is.”
I had never heard of Ucluelet before and told him I had no idea of its whereabouts.
“Well, look here,” he said, pointing to another place on the map. “This is the town of Tofino. It is about twenty sites away. And this bay continues inland for about fifty miles to the town of Port Alberni. Does that help?”
As much as I wanted to say “yes” and not show my ignorance, I had to admit I had never heard of any of those places.
“See right here; this is the Pacific Rim Park. It has many miles of unspoiled beach,” he continued, hoping that would help me.
It didn’t. I anxiously looked over the chart, trying to find something that I recognized so that I could identify the location that was being pointed out to me. The chart showed the positions of countless islands, the shape of the coastline and the names of small towns dotting the coast. However, there wasn’t a single name that I recognized. I didn’t have a reference point to help me identify the location.
“Do you have a larger map so that I can see where this place is in relation to something I already know?” I asked.
My future father-in-law went to a bookshelf and took down a world atlas. He looked up Vancouver Island and showed me the map. Instantly, I knew where Ucluelet was, because I could see it in relationship to Victoria. Since I knew the location of Victoria, it became my reference point. The chart, though containing accurate information, was of no help to me, because of a lack of a reference point. In fact, I could have studied the chart forever and never concluded where the location was that my future father-in-law was pointing out. Without a reference point, it would have been an exercise in futility.
The same holds true of each person’s spiritual position. In order for us to know where we are spiritually, we need a reference point. The only accurate reference point is Jesus Christ and His crucifixion. Let me explain a little of what that means.
You and I can never get an accurate estimate of our sin and guilt before God until we understand what it cost Him to remove our sin. God sent His only Son, Jesus whom He loved, to die on Calvary’s cross. Jesus was the only sacrifice that God could accept.
How bad are your sins? Christ had to die to remove sins-that is how bad they are! Make no mistake about it-God sent His Son to be the true Savior for sinners. Some people feel that a self-improvement plan of some kind will help. They feel this way because they don’t have an accurate estimation of the seriousness of their sins. If they did, they would realize they need a Savior and not a self-improvement plan. God does not do things that are not necessary. If you didn’t need your sins washed away by the blood shed on Calvary, Christ never would have been crucified. You will only understand the seriousness of your sins when you see that, in order to remove them, it was necessary for the Lord Jesus to die for them.
Unless you have Christ and His crucifixion as your reference point, you will never understand the love of God. The Bible says, “God is love,” and nothing ever demonstrated His love like the fact that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:33For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (1 Corinthians 15:3)). “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:1010Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)). “Propitiation” means that God can show mercy to sinners because Christ died for them. Mercy doesn’t mean God will overlook your sins, but, rather, through the death of Christ, God has made a way that He can righteously deal with them.
“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). That little word “so” describes the greatest love we can possibly know. It describes the love that moved God to send His Son to Calvary where He would be nailed to a cross.
It was not the nails that held the Lord Jesus to the cross. It was His great love for sinners that held Him there. This same love is still reaching out to sinners, offering them forgiveness for their sins. You may be unsaved and go to a lost eternity, but you will never die unloved.
Only with a crucified Savior as a reference point can you understand the true character of this world. For three and a half years, the Lord Jesus publicly taught the people around Him. He did great miracles among them; He healed the sick and the disabled; He gave sight to the blind, and He raised the dead. He preached the gospel, the “good news,” to the poor.
Because the common people flocked to Him, He aroused the jealousy of the religious leaders. One evening, they sent men with clubs and swords to seize Him. The Lord Jesus, knowing that He had a great work to accomplish by His death, let Himself be taken. The religious leaders joined ranks with the political leaders in demanding that He should be crucified. A great mass of people, including many who had heard Him and had probably even enjoyed the food He provided, chanted, “Crucify Him, crucify Him”!
Not a single valid reason could they produce for wanting to destroy Him. The Lord Jesus could truly say, “They hated Me without a cause” (John 15:2525But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. (John 15:25)). They led Him away and crucified Him, and this act of rejection revealed the true character of this world for all time. Christ came in love, kindness and grace, and they wanted nothing to do with Him.
This world still doesn’t want Jesus. His call goes out to all men, but it is up to individuals to decide how they will respond. The question for you to answer is whether you will turn to the Lord Jesus, who alone can satisfy your heart. Wouldn’t you rather belong to the Lord Jesus than spend your life chasing after pleasures and possessions that have no lasting value?
These three things-the seriousness of sin, the love of God and the character of the world we live in-can only be truly understood when they are looked at in relationship to the rejected Savior. That is the only true point of reference.