I could not imagine losing my only son – he has brought me so much love, joy, and fun, along with the usual (sometimes difficult) childhood issues.
When he was about three, he asked me if I would always love him, and, trying to imagine the worst possible scenario in his young imagination, added “even if I go to jail”?
I assured him that my love for him would never change, adding that I would be saddened if he made wrong choices and ended up in jail – because he too would be sad. He was reassured and comforted.
I cannot imagine my feelings if he later said he would willingly spend time in jail so a friend would not have to pay for his own wrongdoing. My heart would cry out, “You didn’t do anything wrong. Let him pay the price himself for his wrong choices. Let him go to jail! He deserves it!” I can’t imagine how I would feel if he said he would offer to go to jail even for some-one he didn’t know.
This is what Jesus did for us. We weren’t His friends. We had no relationship with Him. We didn’t know Him. Yet He knew us, loved us, knew we had made wrong choices, and knew the consequences we would face. Not separated from family and friends by jail. Worse. Separated from God and His love forever. Without hope.
God IS love, and all human love, as good as it can be, is only a poor reflection of how much God loves all of us. His love is far greater than anything we can understand or imagine. But He is also just - and we are wired to want justice for those who have suffered at the hands of others. God is just, but also fair.
Why should we need to be reunited with God? Most of us have tried to live “good” lives, tried to treat others well; most of us haven’t committed murder or done anything worse than anyone else. Why do we “need” Jesus?
We need Jesus because of God’s holiness. God created the world without sin, but man chose to be independent from God. Man got His independence, true, but has moved further and further away from God’s authority. Sin’s effects have tainted and contaminated all of creation, including even the best of people. There has only ever been one perfect human being – Jesus. The rest of us are, or were, separated from God.
As God, He has the right to choose who and what will be in His presence. And He cannot and will not continue to have His world defiled by sin for all eternity. When He re-establishes a new heaven and earth there will be NO sin in His presence. Never again. Therefore all who want to come to Him – who wish to be in His presence, who wish to know His love, His peace, His truth and His perfect justice – need to be forgiven, and made pure.
We are all tainted by the contamination of sin. It is ironic that when we say we have not sinned or are not sinful, or even “not very” sinful, it is because we cannot imagine just how holy God is. We do not know how much we don’t know about God.
Why then did Jesus have to die? Wasn’t that rather cruel of God, to let His precious Son die on behalf of those who neither knew Him, nor cared about Him?
Death comes to all people – by God’s mercy, because that is the result of sin . How terrifying and fearful if we were to live forever without God’s presence, which includes His hope, love, peace and justice. Death is the price we will all pay, but Jesus said that He came to give us new life, eternal life with God in heaven – if we want it.
He would not just “go to jail” for us to show How much He cares. Much more. He would take our death upon Himself, and exchange it for new, eternal, joyful, forgiven life. If we accept the transaction, we will “walk out of jail free”. We will not have to worry about dying or death, for we will believe in His promise. His death for ours. His life given to us instead.
Could an ordinary man pay such a price to save another? No. The substitute would have to be perfect. There was only one perfect Man: Jesus. He volunteered to take our place. Only a perfect substitute would be able to say to God, “I did it for him. The price is paid. He's forgiven. I bought him back.” Only the Son of God could pay the price for the sins of the whole world. He was willing.
But the death of Jesus was horrifying. A Roman crucifixion is a ghastly, cruel, lingering death. In the Garden of Gethsemane, his disciples slept, while Jesus prayed, groaned and wept. Was there no other way?
No. There wasn’t. Abandoned by His friends and followers, knowing he would be separated even from His Father (the very definition of hell) while He was dying in our place, he chose to walk the lonely road to the cross. He was surrounded by officials and soldiers, but He was utterly alone. No-one had ever done what He was about to do. And no-one could understand the enormity of this sacrifice of Himself.
I cannot bear to describe His agony – physical, emotional, and spiritual.
However, because Jesus was God’s Son, death had no power to keep Him. On the third day God raised Him back to life. His Son, whom He loved, had paid the price for all of us. A very costly price. But – offered to us for free.
So please don’t tell me that everyone will have access to heaven or will get another chance to accept His offer of salvation, forgiveness and purification after a lifetime of ignoring, rejecting, or mocking Him. No. Our opportunity is now, not later.
If that was the case, why did God the Father and God the Son have to endure the agony of being separated while all the heavenly beings watched in horror? Why did Jesus have to die such an agonizing death if that wasn’t necessary for us? The cost was enormous.
So, what was God thinking? He was thinking that He loved us so much that He would even give His much loved Son so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. Whoever – open for anyone. Good, bad, very bad. We all need Him.
Impossible to understand? Yes. I can’t imagine love like that, but I say thanks to Him for it.
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