A few years ago, I lost my voice and my car wouldn’t start on the same day, so I ordered an Uber to give me a quick lift to work. A woman pulled up in an impressive, upgraded Jeep. Since she was talkative and I couldn’t talk, we started a hilarious me-texting and her-talking conversation that kept us laughing the whole way to church.
That’s when Jesus came up. She mentioned how expensive gas was, which prompted me to text, “Time for that Prius!” She laughed, and I joked, “It’s what Jesus wants.” But she suddenly turned serious and muttered, “It wouldn’t be the first time I disappointed Jesus …” That was the exact moment when she pulled into the church parking lot, I got out, and our conversation ended.
I wonder how many of us feel, deep down, that Jesus is disappointed in us. It’s not an illogical emotion since sin disappoints Jesus and we are all sinners. But let’s not forget what Jesus did to deal with those feelings. “He was delivered over to death for our sins” (Romans 4:25).
For our sins—those three golden words explain why Jesus did what he did. To pay for our sins. To erase our sins. To send our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Or to put it another way, to make sure that our sins don’t leave us as disappointments in God’s eyes.
Sinner, take heart. If you have Jesus, God isn’t disappointed in you.
