You Do the Math
In recent years, I’ve been working a little more thoughtfully on removing some toxic things from my life.
I am working on plastics from my life, and thereby, hopefully, removing microplastics from my brain, body, bloodstream. Or at least not adding any. Plus, it is great for the environment and our landfills to, well, fill them less with forever plastics. I recycle bottles. I use metal or glass straws. I look for personal care and household products packaged in cardboard or pouches instead of large plastic bottles.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He [the Father] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
I’m working on removing chemicals. For example, by filtering my water with a water filter. I’m working on removing chemicals from my personal care products – like using shampoo and conditioner bars that use essential oils and actual botanicals for cleaning and scenting.
I’ve cut out almost all sugar – both table sugar and the substitutes.
As a Christian, could I remove my way to success? Yes and no.
Luke 6:42 tells us to remove the plank from our own eyes before trying to remove a speck from someone else’s eye. That plank being our own sins.
Hebrews 12:1 [NIV] says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
We are to remove things that hinder us from running our spiritual race.
Job 22:23 [NIV] says, If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent
We are to remove wickedness.
In Ezekiel 11:19, God promises to remove the stony hearts from His people. In Isaiah 1:25, God says that He will remove the impurities from His people.
And that is why Jesus came – to purify us from sin, remove the impurities from our hearts, minds and lives. [See Titus 2:14 and 1 John 1:9]
The greatest thing that the work of Jesus subtracted from us is the debt that results from our sins. Colossians 2:14 [NIV] having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
We are no longer toxic to God. Having lived sinless, Jesus suffered being rejected by the Father so that we could be accepted by the Father. Having lived free of sin, Jesus accepted the adding of all of our sins to Himself, so that our sins and the penalty for them could be removed from us.
2 Corinthians 5:21 [NKJV] For He [the Father] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. [I added the bracketed notes for clarity.]
Subtraction is an important part of Christian living. But we can’t do the real math ourselves. That requires the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, who took on all of our sin in order to remove the most toxic part of the human condition. The pollution of the land, water and air God gave us is bad for the earth and for all the living creatures on it. Ingesting toxic chemicals is bad for our bodies.
But the most toxic thing we need to remove isn’t something we can remove on our own. Praise God that Jesus came to remove our sins and the penalty for them.
It is some special, sacred math that adding one Savior, has the power to subtract centuries of sin for billions of people. But praise God that He solved that equation for us.
I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me in the chat, or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org.