Picture this, you are sitting in a job interview, the interviewer says, “Tell me one word that best describes you”.  I’m pretty certain your response is not going to be “Depraved”.   We wouldn’t typically describe ourselves that way.  In fact, depraved is a word most often reserved for the worst of criminals, those who commit the most unspeakable crimes.  Yet, if we are truly honest, if we sit quietly and consider the secret thoughts and desires of the deepest, darkest parts of us, we must admit that it is true.  The Bible spells out our condition quite clearly in Romans 3:9-18

9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11  no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16  in their paths are ruin and misery,
17  and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

hope

It’s just not a pretty picture, yet this is the true condition of the human heart.  No matter how good we think we are, we are still just depraved at best.  Even the thoughts of the best of people are still just depravity at its best.  Sadly, there’s no way for us in and of ourselves to fix that.  Which is exactly why God sent Jesus to earth to become a man and carry our sin.  He was and is the only answer for a depraved heart.  He is the only hope in an otherwise hopeless situation.  The only hope….just stop for a moment and think about that.

                                                       our only hope

Only He can free us from the prison of ourselves, our thoughts, our actions, our consequences….only He can.  And He did, so freely, so mercifully, so lovingly.  He freed us with His painful death, His final words – “it is finished” – with the astonishing and awe inspiring resurrection.  He set us free.  Never to face the consequence of our own sin. He paid that price, once and for all.

our inspiration

How can we not be eternally grateful to Him?  How can we not be inspired to worship and praise the God described above? How can our heart not jump out of our chest in response to the Jesus Who gave it all to rescue us from our own depravity?  Gratitude should fuel our prayer, our song, our interaction with those around us.  Because depravity at its best couldn’t keep us from Him.