Once and Forever

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh. Romans 8:3 Bob Ebeling spent a third of his life consumed with guilt. He was one of the engineers connected to NASA, and he worried that cold temperatures would cause the 1986 Challenger space shuttle to explode. Ebeling was so concerned that he called his boss, and they assembled data that would demonstrate the risk. When NASA proceeded with the launch anyway, Ebeling watched in horror as the Challenger exploded. He spent nearly the rest of his life overwhelmed with guilt, thinking he could have done more to delay the launch. Shortly before his recent death at age 89, Ebeling said he had found peace.[1]

It’s terrible to live a life consumed with guilt. Few of us have to face the explosion of a spacecraft, but we all look back on our lives with our share of regrets. But God doesn’t intend for us to live any longer in the sins He has washed away by the blood of Jesus. Our Lord’s blood is an acid that eats away at the corrosive guilt that can rust out our heart. In Christ, there is no condemnation. Jesus’ death is the only real answer to our guilt. Timothy Lane [1]Howard Berkes, “Challenger Engineer Who Warned of Shuttle Disaster Dies,” NPR, March 21, 2016. from David Jeremiah