08/20/2026
There is something about Jesus that I think many believers read right past: Jesus did not only come to remove your sin. He came to remove the distance sin created. We often talk about the cross as the place where Jesus paid our debt, and that is absolutely true, but the finished work goes even deeper. Jesus was not merely trying to make bad people behave better. He came to bring sons and daughters home. The goal of the cross was always relationship. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” The blood was shed, the debt was paid, and the distance was removed.
Think about the strangest words Jesus spoke from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” For His entire earthly ministry, Jesus continually spoke about His Father. He lived in perfect fellowship with Him. Yet at the cross, Jesus entered into the darkness and abandonment our sin deserved. He experienced what belonged to us so that we could permanently receive what belonged to Him. This means the believer will never have to wonder whether the Father has walked away. Jesus entered our forsakenness so that we could enter His acceptance.
That changes the way you read the cross. Jesus was not being rejected because the Father suddenly stopped loving His Son. Jesus was standing where humanity stood. He was taking our place completely. Isaiah had prophesied, “The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Every accusation, every failure, every shameful memory, every sin you wish you could erase was placed upon Jesus. Nothing was overlooked. Nothing was postponed. Nothing was left for you to pay later. When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” He was announcing that everything separating you from God had been dealt with.
And here is what is beautiful: after Jesus rose from the dead, He began using language that revealed what His finished work had accomplished. He told Mary, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Before the cross, the disciples repeatedly heard Jesus say, “My Father.” After the resurrection, He deliberately says, “your Father.” Something had changed. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus had opened His relationship with the Father to those who believe in Him. He did not merely rescue you from judgment. He brought you into the family.
Maybe that is why the torn veil is such a powerful part of the crucifixion story. When Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. For generations, that veil represented separation. Then Jesus completed His sacrifice, and God Himself tore the barrier apart. Humanity did not climb its way into the presence of God. God opened the way through His Son. Hebrews says, “We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.” Notice the word confidence. You are not supposed to approach your Father wondering whether you are welcome. Jesus already settled that question.
This means when you fail, your instinct does not have to be to run away from God until you feel worthy again. Jesus already made you worthy to come near through His blood. You do not need three good days, twenty prayers, enough tears, or enough promises before the Father receives you again. Your access was never purchased by your performance. It was purchased by Jesus. “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” Jesus did not give you temporary visiting privileges with God. He brought you home.
Maybe you have spent years believing God tolerates you because Jesus convinced Him not to punish you. That is not the gospel. Jesus came because the Father already loved you. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.” The cross did not turn an unwilling God into a loving Father. The cross revealed just how far your loving Father was willing to go to bring you back to Himself. Jesus is the visible revelation of the Father’s heart. When you watch Jesus touching lepers, forgiving sinners, restoring failures, welcoming outsiders, and defending the condemned, you are watching the heart of your Father being revealed.
So today, I want you to live conscious of closeness, not distance. You are not standing outside hoping God opens the door. Jesus already opened it. You are not trying to become accepted. In Christ, you have been accepted. You are not trying to work your way back home. Jesus carried you home through His finished work. I bless you to wake up knowing the Father is near, to pray without fear, to worship without shame, and to live without constantly wondering whether God has changed His mind about you. May the revelation of Jesus become so real in your heart that you stop living like an orphan outside the house and begin resting like a beloved child who knows exactly where they belong. Jesus removed the distance. You are home.
