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Amanda Crews

February 1, 2025

Romans 8:1-2, New Living Translation

“...there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” 


All of the good stuff in life is messy: Cooking from scratch, baking, gardening, packing for vacation, art, traveling, babies and kiddos, animals, working out, eating wings or really big cupcakes, s’mores, love, relationships, friendships, family, and whatever else you are thinking about right now. 

 

However messy these are though, they are equally as beautiful. 

 

I often share how messy life can be on my Facebook (blue paint on new carpet, our dog’s head stuck in a chair, scribbles on the wall or couch, and so much more). Despite the many big and small messes of life, God is working through it all. In fact, the entire Bible is filled with messy people. 

 

Cain killed his brother Abel. 

Sarah laughed at God when she heard she would bear a child in her old age. 

Elijah asked God to take his life. 

Even Jesus’ life was messy. He took His first breaths surrounded by animals, unwelcome in any home. One of His closest friends betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver. After being beaten, mocked, tortured, and hung, He was left to die. For what? For sin that He never participated in. Yet, out of love, He willingly offered Himself up to the Father for each one of us so that we could be justified, or declared righteous, in the eyes of God. 

 

Do you feel like you are too messy for God? Or that you have made too many bad decisions? The truth is that apart from God, we are a mess. However, in Him, there is beauty in our mess not because of anything we have done, but because of everything He’s done. If you are reading this and you are still thinking you have no clue what I have done. You are right. I don’t. But that’s the past, and Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62, NIV). You cannot live with those mistakes. However, you can look forward to what the future holds for you when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. 

 

Paul wrote in Romans 8:1-2 (NLT) “...there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” 

 

In Jesus, there is no death. You are not too messy for God. Your sin is not too much for Him to bear. And truthfully, when we trust Him and share His love with others through our testimony, there is more beauty that comes from our story than the mess we live in. 

 

I am praying that if you haven’t yet put your faith in Jesus, that you will do that. If you have put your faith in Him, I am praying for the messes. Praying that we see the beauty in the struggle and that the suffering we all face here pulls us closer to Him. I am praying for His guidance, comfort, and peace for all of us in this hurting, messy world. We’re in this together, figuring it out one day at a time. In the words of Paul, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, HSBC)

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