What's Involved in a Sit-In - Martin Wiles

But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Hebrews 10:12 NLT

He pulled up a chair, sat beside me, and raised his left arm in the air.

Our church was hosting its first craft fair. A good number of vendors signed up, set up, and enjoyed interacting with customers—along with selling them products. I sat at a table near the entrance, hosting my first book signing. As my wife talked with the various vendors, a gentleman from our church took her seat beside me, raised his left arm, and smiled.

“What are you doing?” I—along with others who stopped by—asked.

“Sitting in for your wife,” he responded.

My wife had undergone carpal tunnel surgery the day before and was supposed to be sitting with her arm elevated. But she wasn’t being a good patient, as usual, so our friend decided he’d show her how a sit-in was supposed to be done.

Although no more than a young boy in the 1960’s, I remember another type of sit-in. The kind where minority groups, whose rights were being violated by governmental laws and society’s traditions, sat in various stores and other locations. Had I chosen to sit with them—or sit in their place—I would have faced the same retaliation as they did.

The biblical writer, however, introduces another type of sit-in—one that also had consequences but wonderful results. This sit-in occurred after Jesus died on the cross, was resurrected from the grave, and then ascended back to heaven.

Jesus sat in my place as my friend did for my wife, but with a big difference. His sitting in her for her had no effect on the swelling in her arm. She was still walking around with it dangling in the wrong direction. Jesus’s sitting in our place has the potential to alter our current life situation and eternal state. His sit-in was substitutionary, which means he took our place.

If we choose, we can avoid having to pay for our sins and be eternally separated from God. We can be released from condemnation and live with confidence, peace, and joy. But we must accept the effects of Jesus’s sit-in by confessing our sins, putting our trust in Him, and claiming him as our Savior.

Don’t try to sit in for yourself. Accept the sit-in Christ made for you.

Father, thank you for allowing your Son to sit in on my behalf. 

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