The spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of our God's vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify Him.
Isaiah 61:1-3
Often times, it becomes easy to forget why Christ came, when it seems that christians these days are stereotyped as hateful, judgmental people. Christ didn't come to give us more rules, or to judge us for the rules we broke; Christ came to set us free from the need to meet an impossible standard of perfection. God is so perfect and holy, and we are imperfect and flawed. We couldn't even stand in His presence because we could never make ourselves holy enough, but we don't have to anymore. Now Christ came so that His blood could cover up our flaws, and we can finally be reunited with our Creator.
Before I realized who Christ really was, I constantly tried so hard to be righteous and worthy of grace. No matter how hard I tried to always do the right thing, or have perfect attendance at church, or be worthy, I always fell short. I thought hey if I go to church every sunday and do a lot of really good things, then i'm a "good christian." You don't have to labor in vain any longer, Christ completed the task for us. Now you can be still in His presence, and let Him set you free from sin's power in your life. You can stop trying to be good on your own power, and let God's goodness invade your heart and change you from the inside out.
He didn't come to judge you, or make you feel inadequate, but to freely make you adequate to stand before God once again. He loves you so much that He sent His son to die for you to set you free. He also came to set those you don't like free. Pray, beg God to open your eyes to view people the way He does. When you are too busy loving God and others, there is no room for slanderous words, or hatred. Today, as you go on through your daily life, let these words permeate your soul and transform your mindset. Always dwell on who Christ is, and what He has done.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. He began by saying to them, "Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled."
Luke 4:20-21
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