Only when we know the depths of our need can we find freedom in Christ.

‘But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’ (Matthew 5:28)

Jesus came onto the scene preaching Good News – but it wasn’t always received that way. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ listeners were acutely aware of the bad news about themselves – their inability. It wasn’t just a case of not murdering, but not hating; not only not committing adultery, but not lusting. I can just imagine the reaction of the crowds as they heard Jesus talk: ‘Good News? This isn’t Good News! It was bad enough when we couldn’t do these things, now we can’t even think about doing them.’

Jesus was doing for them what He must do for you and me. He was exposing them to their natural state. He was showing them that they could not be the people they were created to be – by themselves.

God does not expose our failure to embarrass us, humiliate us or condemn us. It is always so that, on facing our need, He might clean us up and change us. We have to accept the diagnosis before we ever experience the remedy. The Sermon on the Mount drills down deep to the depths of our need, exposing our inherent weakness apart from God. It’s then and only then that we discover the provision that God makes through Christ.

What is God exposing in your life? Let it lead you back to Him.

Bible in one year: Mark 10 | Genesis 40