Skip to main content

R.I.G.H.T.


God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:25-26)
 

          Saturday afternoon, I went to a painting class at my church. Our subject was a pair of dandelions that had gone to seed, one of them with part of the seeds blown into the wind around the line “Be still and know that I am God.” This is my fourth time taking one of these classes. I learn a little about technique each time, but I can tell you with absolute assurance that I am not an artist. I enjoy the activity but it’s also frustrating because it didn’t turn out R.I.G.H.T. 
          What’s right? I’m not sure, but probably what they are calling “hyper-realism.” If not that, then at least that is not only more than I accomplished, but more than I am able to accomplish. You’ve probably been there. You want to get it right and no matter how hard you try, it’s just not good enough. That’s what we’ve been examining for the past several days. We just can’t be good enough. Even in the Old Testament, God acknowledged this. He set up a sacrificial system. While we deserved to die for what we did, God would accept the death of a substitute instead. 
          The rules about this were strict. He demanded “hyper-reality.” Since the life is in the blood, it had to be an animal. It had to be innocent of the sin for which it was being sacrificed, which might explain why carnivores weren’t sacrificed. It had to be perfect, and the truth of the matter was that it didn’t change much. Until we tried, we couldn’t know that we would fail. Now that we have failed, God as provided what we could not. He provided a perfect, innocent sacrifice that met His standards. We may not understand it all, but because we've tried, we have a better idea of what it takes, and can better appreciate the One who did what we could not.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Right Road

          Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:7-12)                  For years before GPSes existed, I told people I wanted something in my car that would tell me, “Turn left in half a mile…turn left in a quarter mile…turn left in 500 feet… turn left in 100 feet…turn left now …You missed the turn, Dummy!” The problem isn’t necessarily that I get lost so much as I’m afraid I’ll get lost. I don’t want to have to spend my whole trip stressing over the next turn. I have the same problem with my spiritual journey.   
Post a Comment
Read more

Died as a Ransom

                 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:15)                  This is something I’d really rather not think about but here it is and it’s important. I was reading in Bold Love about seeking revenge.  The author wrote of seeking justice when a supposed Christian does something sinful, harmful, and/or horrific, like sexually abusing a daughter.  And the thought that came to mind was of God asking if Jesus’ death was sufficient payment to me for the sin committed against me.                I have no specific longing for revenge, vengeance, or justice. I’m sure there are some lurking somewhere in my heart, but this wasn’t a response to one. It was more a question of principle. Jesus’ death was sufficient payment for to God for our sins.  That’s the standard Sunday Schoo
1 comment
Read more

Out of the Depths

  Out of the depths I have cried to You, Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the sound of my pleadings.   If You, Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, so that You may be revered. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and I wait for His word. My soul waits in hope for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; Yes, more than the watchmen for the morning. Israel, wait for the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his guilty deeds . (Psalm 130)             I like Mr. Peterson’s interpretation of the first line. “The bottom has fallen out of my life!” Of course, the problem for some of us is the fact that we’re drama queens, and/or we’re weak. Any time anything happens that disturbs our sense of mastery and control, the bottom has fallen out of our lives. If the past couple of days have taught me anything, they’ve t
1 comment
Read more