When you purposefully make God’s universal story your own, you will always be looking in two directions. You will be looking backward to the cross and looking forward to the time when you see Jesus, the object of your hope. When we look back at the cross we see forgiveness of sin, the love and generosity of God to sinners, the fact that we now approach God without fear, the righteousness we receive rather than earn. These and many other promises are “yes,” and they radically change the present. We can live as people who have been given a great gift, so there is a persistence of thankfulness
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