For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
Romans 3:23-24

Dear God, this is a passage (well, the first sentence is) that my new youth minister memorize when I first became a discipling Christian in 1987. He had us memorize Romans 3:23, 6:23, and 10:9-10.

I was talking with a young man today about what you and I have been talking about lately in terms of my evangelism, or lack thereof. I told him that one thing we need to figure out is what we are selling when we share our faith. Are we selling heaven? Are we selling relationship with you? The fruits of the Spirit? And how do I package all of that into a nice, neat little bundle that will draw someone into an authentic relationship with you?

I guess it starts with the idea that we are all equal, regardless of gender, race, wealth, or social/political standing. We are all sinful. We have all fallen short of your glory. While we see each other as different, I’m sure we would be surprised to see how much you see us all as pretty much the same. From the very genuinely good pastor who lives completely for you to the murderer on death row—on a scale of 1-10, one might be a 1 and the other a 1.5. But I suppose this isn’t about a rating system. It’s simply pass/fail and we all fail.

Father, thank you for sending Jesus and freeing me from the penalty of my sin. Thank you for not seeing me differently than you see anyone else. Thank you for that equality. It takes achievement in man’s eyes off of the table and puts living in worship of you in perspective. So help me to take my eyes off of me, off of my priorities and idea, and put them solely on you and hearing your voice. Let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen