“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25, NKJV).

God gave us His only begotten Son. Jesus gave up heaven to dwell among us, and then gave up His physical life. They created people and chose a people for Himself. God defeated armies and split seas. And God did it all to save you. God did it for us. God is angry every day. God suffers for our sake. Jesus gave up His freedom to take on flesh, and then suffer and die for us.

He didn’t do it for nothing. He’s not going to suddenly go half-hearted on you. He’s all in! His mercy can also be called loving-devotion. It’s that chesed word in Hebrew that translators struggle to transform into English. He’s devoted to you in love, and shows it in His mercy that accepts you back again, and again, as you struggle to follow Him with the same devotion that He shows you. Sin separates us from God, and should make our hearts sick that we’re turning from our God instead of clinging to Him, embraced in His everlasting arms.

But although the good news is freedom from the sin that hurts us and others and separates us from God, it was never about us never sinning. Yes, we’re to never choose sin, but we still miss the mark of aiming at perfection in Christ, and sometimes we let the flesh win in its fears and desires and choose sin. God made a provision for that. When God commanded the Israelites to obey all His commandments, to keep His commandments and statutes and ordinances and precepts, part of those were daily sacrifices to cover their unintentional sins. There were special demands on those who had sinned knowingly, including recompensing as was fitting, but a sacrifice for sin was always part of the deal.

It was never about us walking in sinless perfection. It was about us walking with Him as our God. He wanted the Israelites to choose Him as their God. To look to Him to provide and protect. To obey His good order because they trusted He knew best and had the plan they should follow. Part of the plan acknowledged that they would need forgiveness of sin, but it also required a daily choice of obedience to His Word to make those daily sacrifices for forgiveness.

It’s also not about sinning as our flesh desires and then just saying sorry each day. A conscious choice for sin requires a special sacrifice, a confession, a repaying, a humbling. It’s not something that could be tossed off as not a big deal. It wasn’t covered in the regular sacrifices. But it can be done. Jesus wants to save you.

God wants you to be saved. He sacrificed for you. Choose to sacrifice for Him. We can live in God’s ways with hearts turned toward Him and keeping His commandments because we have the power of the Spirit at work in us and because Jesus lives to pray for us. Jesus is interceding for us. It’s not to enable our sin, but to set us free.

God is at work setting you free from sin and self and all that keeps us from Him. He wants you. Entrust your life to Him and He will save you to the uttermost. He cannot fail at the task!