Our Position Right Now!

Nothing in my hands I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling.....

From Rock of Ages, by Augustus Toplady

We come to Jesus empty-handed. We have nothing to offer.

Though claiming no merit of our own, we just cling to His blood and righteousness.

And we are justified.

We have been put right with God. We, who were enemies of God, become His friends and His family.

We pass from a state of God's condemnation to a state of pardon and forgiveness.

We become clothed in Christ's perfect righteousness.

In our standing before God we will never be more righteous, even before God in heaven, than we were the day we first trusted in Christ, or as we are right now.

We now have perfect righteousness. We need no more. We will never be more righteous than we are right now.

That is our position before God.

He now sees us as righteous as Christ Himself.

Amazing, isn't it?

That should encourage and inspire us to strive to be more righteous in our character, so we will begin to have a character that corresponds to our position. 

That will be completed when we are finally before God Himself.  But for now, we just work toward it.

Also, it should remind us that our Christian family is made of people like us - people whose position is also as having the perfect righteousness of Christ - so those brothers and sisters in Christ are holy objects - sanctified by the Spirit of Christ, possessing His righteousness, just as we do.

We should see them that way - with love and compassion, not with a critical and hostile spirit.

Just as God looks at us.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast,

It is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,

It is not easily angered

It keeps no record of wrongs.

It does not delight in evil,

but rejoices in the truth.

It always protects, always trusts,

Always hopes, always preservers.

Love never fails.

--1 Corinthians 13

God is love.

God treated Christ the way we deserved, so that He can treat us the way Christ deserves.