Fat Guy in a Skinny Body

I see commercials of people all the time who have lost a tremendous amount of weight. They have before and after pictures that are almost scary. The before picture they are all bloated and puffy and then the after picture is of a hotty that is almost unrecognizable. Of course, the advertisement is selling a product and the hope is that we will jump at the chance to become a hard body. I have met people who used to be really heavy and have lost weight. Sometimes they still see themselves as heavy. They feel like they are fat people in skinny bodies. They have been so used to being heavy all their lives it is difficult to believe they aren't fat anymore. I am like that with grace I think. I am justified in the eyes of God because of what Jesus did on the cross. He was crushed so that I could be whole. He was blown apart so that somehow my fractured soul would come together. When God looks at me, he is filled with the same delight as when he looked at Jesus. "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased"- God is talking about me. Wow! But I am so used to being a sinner. I am used to trying to justify myself by what I do. I am used to saying," Listen, I know I am not perfect, but I am not all that bad. Look at me do something good. Look at me love a black man. Look at me let people out in traffic. Look at me get up early and pray". I am constantly having to remind myself that I am saved by grace. I am loved because God loved Jesus and Jesus gave his life for mine. Jesus gave me his place in the heart of the Father. I need to quit being a fat guy in a skinny body. I need to quit being a sinner desperately trying to justify myself in the soul of a saint forgiven by the grace of God. So, today I will not justify myself by what I do. Instead I will remind myself of the wonder of a God who justified me by a sacrifice I can scarcely wrap my mind around and I will worship.