Human Achievement.

Human Achievement

Most of us love to boast of what we have accomplished and draw attention to the effort and sacrifice we had to make; the expense and time we were prepared to invest. Some projects have been possible only by physical effort, toil and labour to the point of exhaustion and human endurance beyond imagination. Their completion involved blinding sweat, aching muscles, straining sinews, weary limbs and in some cases resulted in death. Hundreds of miles of road and rail have been laid by intense labour.

Other projects were the result of engineering skill, architectural flair and the ingenuity of brilliant minds: bridges spanning deep chasms or miles of ocean; tunnels carved through solid rock; Alpine roads snaking tortuously down mountain sides; ornate buildings which have drawn admiration from tourists and visitors for many decades; skyscrapers and towers rising to dizzying heights, competing with others to be the tallest in the world.

Yet others feats could not have been achieved without staggering amounts of money and incredible wealth being provided; their completion depended on colossal cash injections stretching to millions or billions of pounds or dollars.

Many of these great feats of scarcely believable human achievement are listed in books such as "The Guinness Book of Records".

The greatest project ever undertaken was the rescue of sinners, defiled by sin and in danger of an eternity in the fire that shall never be quenched. This wondrous plan of salvation originated in the heart of God and the cost involved was the death of God’s only Son. The amassed wealth of this world could not have purchased our salvation; "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold … But with the precious blood of Christ", 1Peter 1.18,19. The sacrifice and sufferings of God’s Son upon the cross have procured salvation for all mankind and made available to every human being a royal pardon for sins of deepest dye and a righteous escape from the eternal judgment our sins deserve. The cost to God was incalculable:

And, when I think that God, His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.

   (Stuart K. Hine)

The cost to Christ was measureless: sufferings indescribable, judgment intense and unrelenting, rejected by men and forsaken by His God. The cost would have bankrupted this world, but Christ by His atoning death has done and paid all that God demanded for us to be in heaven forever.

What must I do or give to obtain this salvation? What price must I pay to have everlasting life? Amazingly it is "the gift of God … through Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 6.23. It is offered freely by God’s grace, completely undeserved, offered without money and without price. It is simply to be received without offering anything in exchange; it can only be obtained by trusting Christ and depending upon the sacrifice He offered and the work He accomplished on the shameful cross at Calvary. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" Ephesians 2.8,9.

When can I obtain this salvation? "... behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" 2Corinthians 6.2. Our advice to you, dear reader is found in Isaiah 55.6,7: "Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."

Reproduced by kind permission of Assembly Testimony