ONCE IS ENOUGH

by Pastor Kyle Wangelin

So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. -Hebrews 9:28

One of the greatest joys I have as Pastor is that there are times where I can visibly
see an idea or concept regarding the faith click with someone. You can almost see
the light bulb go on in their brain! One such occasion happened in talking with
some of our Confirmation students about the word sacrifice. When I asked what the
word sacrifice means, I learned that we must have some baseball fans in our
congregation, because the first thing they thought of was a sacrifice fly. I actually
love this analogy, because it teaches us that a sacrifice is not done without an end
goal in mind. A batter sacrifices his opportunity to get on base, with the goal of
advancing one of his teammates to the next base or even home plate.

​Jesus’ sacrifice was not in vain, but it served a purpose. That purpose was to forgive
the sins of the world, and as written in Hebrews 9, to save those who now wait for
Him to come again. Once is enough. God had a plan with an end goal in mind, and
while we do continue to eagerly await the second coming, God has left us no doubt
that the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I give you thanks, this day and always, for your sacrifice on the cross. Thank
you for the forgiveness of sins which you have so lovingly blessed us with, and preserve us
in faith as we eagerly wait for you to come again. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.