DAILY DEVOTIONAL – October 21, 2019
“Stand-In”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, it is in You that we live and move and have our being. Without You there is no life; there is no meaning or purpose to this life. Jesus You have done what is impossible for us. You lived the life of unquestionable faithfulness toward God that we could not. You submitted Yourself to the wrath of God against our evil and the offense of our sin and rebellion. You were disgraced on the cross, but You rose again and have made Your glory available to all who would believe and trust in Your name alone. We are unworthy of Your love, but humbly receive the free gift of salvation You died to give us. We worship You and You alone as God. Amen.
Scripture: Romans 5:18-21
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Devotional – “Stand-In”
Actor Kevin Bacon gave this account of a conversation he had with his 6-year-old son after he viewed Footloose for the first time:
“Hey, Dad, you know that thing in the movie where you swing from the rafters of that building? That’s really cool, how did you do that?”
I said, “Well, I didn’t do that part–it was a stunt man.”
“What’s a stunt man?” he asked.
“That’s someone who dresses like me and does things I can’t do.”
“Oh,” he replied and walked out of the room looking a little confused.
A little later he said, “Hey, Dad, you know that thing in the movie where you spin around on that gym bar and land on your feet? How did you do that?”
I said, “Well, I didn’t do that. It was a gymnastics double.”
“What’s a gymnastics double?” he asked.
“That’s a guy who dresses in my clothes and does things I can’t do.”
There was silence from my son, then he asked in a concerned voice, “Dad, what did you do?”
“I got all the glory,” I sheepishly replied.
You know friends, you and I may not be movie stars like Kevin Bacon, but the truth is that we all have had someone do what we can’t do. Jesus Christ was our stunt double, except, what Jesus did was not a stunt or special effect. God really did leave heaven and come here to put on our flesh, being conceived by the Holy Spirit of God and born of the virgin Mary. He was truly man. He breathed our air and ate our food. He worked a common job as a carpenter. He spoke our language and wore our clothes. He experienced in full the hardships in this life. He even was tempted to sin as we are, however, Jesus did what we could never do – He perfectly overcame temptation and lived a perfectly faithful life in obedience to God His Father. Jesus was God in the flesh, the God-man, perfect and righteous in every way. Even His enemies and the Roman government couldn’t find Him guilty of a single sin. Yet, Christ did not just put on our clothes, He put on our sin and covered Himself up in the tomb with our death.
Christ did all of the good works we fail to do. He lived with the faith we could never have. He worshiped God with all of His heart, mind, soul and strength when we turned our back on God. Christ faithfully fulfilled the will of our Gracious God and did everything…every thing…needed and necessary for our salvation, having saved us from the righteous wrath of God and restored us into a relationship with God through His blood. We have done and can do nothing to save ourselves, Christ did it all, and yet who does God give the credit to? Who receives all the glory for what Christ did? You and I do when we humbly repent of our sins and wickedness and receive God’s free gift of salvation that was earned for us by Christ who was crucified and rose again on the third day.
Bryson Smith, a reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald, wrote an article about movie star stand-ins and actor doubles. In the article Bryson records an interview he had with Glenn Duhigg, an ex-lawyer who worked as the stand-in and double for Tom Cruise in the movie Mission Impossible 2.
Speaking about what it’s really like to work as a stand-in for a big movie star, Duhigg said, “It sounds very glamorous saying you’re the stand-in for Tom Cruise but I don’t think many people realize the long hours and constant demands that deflate your ego very quickly. The days are long. Whatever scene Tom was in, I would be the one standing there, sometimes for ages as the crew set up the shot – getting the lighting just right and the props just so. I’d be standing there for hours out in the weather, getting drenched in the rain or sun stroke out in the heat. And then Tom would just walk on the set from his air-conditioned caravan or out of his beautiful sports car once the scene was ready.”
It’s incredible isn’t it? That Christ would endure the mocking voices and hatred and torture and even die at the hands of the people He created; people that turned their back on Him and instead created the mess of a world we live in…a mess of a world we have all created with our sin against God. How indescribable is God’s mercy and grace and love that He would send His own Son to endure the wrath we deserved, and then allow us to walk right through the gates of heaven into the eternal rest in the presence of God that Christ has prepared for us by living and dying and rising in our place.
This is the message of Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we find throughout Scripture:
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).
“Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Thanks be to God that Christ was sent to stand-in our sinful place so that you and I could stand with Him in His place in eternity before our God and Creator. Have a wonderful rest of your day friends, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
