Daily devotional, March 7, 2024 The dark horse
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9
I remember being so excited about going to Wright Park each time we are in Baguio City. I have always enjoyed horse-back riding as a child and I remember always choosing the white horses. I never liked dark horses. Looking back now though, I better understood what the apparent idiomatic expression meant.
The Bible seems to feature stories of characters who have emerged as seeming Dark Horses that won the race of salvation. Like the idiom, nobody will expect a prostitute to be saved, but God does the impossible by saving someone like Rahab.
Rahab was a known prostitute in Jericho who put her life on the line and helped out the Israelites as they spied onto the Promised Land. Because of her reputation, her fellowmen did not know that she had been learning a lot about the God of Israelites hence when the spies approached her, she had been willing to assist and hide them. Apart from saving Rahab and her family, God used her mightily as she married someone from the Tribe of Judah and formed part of King David’s, and Jesus’ eventual lineage.
"So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel."
Joshua 6:23
Another seeming Dark Horse is the Samaritan woman by the well. Apart from being a Samaritan (Israelites view Samaritans as enemies) she had five husbands, so we can already guess the kind of reputation she has. But our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did not care about her homeland nor her past. Just like all of us, she was worth saving and so Jesus went out of His way and revealed Himself to her. He also used her mightily as she spread the news about Jesus to her fellow Samaritans:
"Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to Him, they urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days."
John 4:39-40
One of the most popular Dark Horses in the Bible is Zacchaeus the Chief Tax Collector. Who would ever think that this guy, who had the reputation of being corrupt and a traitor to his fellow jews, would be saved by Jesus Himself? We all know the story, he came up a tree just to see Jesus, and our Messiah calls him by name and dines with him in his home. After getting saved, guess how the Lord used him? He was believed to become the first bishop of Caesarea.
"And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:8-10
But maybe one of the top three Dark Horses in the Bible (at least for me) is the thief on the cross. Imagine, he was a thief, and he had no chance to mend His ways and live a God-honoring life because like Jesus, he is also at the point of death. But because He believed that Jesus is the Messiah, and he repented from his sins, he was saved.
"One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:40-43
So what do these stories mean to us? Well, it means that it is never too late to accept Jesus as our Savior. It means that as long as we have accepted our brokenness, surrender our lives to Him and abide by Him, we are giving Him an opportunity to transform our lives. Let us not allow our sins to hinder us from coming to Jesus. He is God’s manifestation of love for us, and so with contrite hearts let us come to Him, seek His mercy, and start living lives that honor Him.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,"
Ephesians 2:8
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on John 4:1-30 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Do you feel like you are unlikely to be saved given your past transgressions and the life that you are living? How can the truth that God offers the gift of salvation transform your life?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for overlooking my sinfulness and offering to save me. Give me the confidence to fully surrender my life to you, and abide by you for always. Amen.