Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." If you're like many people, the next thought in your mind is, "Ya, but..I'm not a bad person. I try to live a good life. I've never killed anyone." I'm not doubting for a minute that you try - I know I do. The problem is, we're comparing ourselves with each other in order to measure up.

Unfortunately, we're using the wrong measuring stick. Romans says we fall short of the glory of God. In other words, "Nobody's perfect." And that's the problem. Every one of us has fallen short of God's glory, of God's will, of God's perfection. And that means our relationship with God is all messed up.

That's the bad news. But God made sure there were good news too. For God Himself came into the world as a human being so He could pay the penalty for our sin. Romans 6:23 syas, "For the wages of sin is death." We deserved to die spiritually, to be cut off from God forever, to suffer the same fate as Satan, becuase of our sin. Jesus, the only perfect human, died to satisfy God's justice, but He came to earth because of God's love.

That's what we celebrate during this Easter season. A love so strong that it held Jesus to the cross and a power so great that death could not hold Him. Good Friday is "good" because on that day Jesus offered Himself in our place. Easter marks the empty tomb and the Risen Lord - a Lord who is alive today and still desires to have a relationship with us.

"The wages of sin is death," but the rest of that verse filled with God's good news; "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." All we have to do is receive the gift by inviting Jesus into our hearts. God wants every one of us to be saved, to have a relationship with Him, but the choice is ours.

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