My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 1 John 2:1 (NLT)
A little bit ago I went with friends to lend support as they went to court. They were told to show up at the lawyer’s office at 9 a.m. Court started at 9:30 a.m. So, my friends showed up at 9 a.m. When they walked in to the office, the receptionist said “Have a seat. Your lawyer is not here yet.” They sat and waited. And waited. Pretty soon it was 9:30. Court was starting without them.
They began discussing among themselves about how troubling this was. The receptionist heard them and said “Don’t worry.” As the conversation continued she began to explain what happens in the courtroom, the process they go through and the fact that my friend’s names are already on the docket with the lawyer assigned to them. She said, “As long as you walk in with your lawyer, you will be fine.”
This made me think of Jesus. The Bible says we all sin and fall short of God’s glory. We all do things that would make us guilty in God’s court. And if we were tried by the law alone, we would be condemned. It would be a done deal except…..except for the fact that we have a lawyer. And his name is Jesus.
As long as our name is on the docket next to his name, we are fine. As long as we walk with him and choose him as our Council, we don’t have to worry about what happens in the proceedings. Jesus is pleading our case and unlike the proceedings in an actual court room, our case has already been decided. The verdict is Not Guilty.
Not Guilty because we have the best Lawyer in eternity. I’ll take that verdict any day!