I do, Papa!

             God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (II Corinthians 5:21)

 

“I do, Papa!”

We hear this from a young child and smile as we watch her struggle to do something she simply can’t do. We celebrate when “I do, Papa!” involves her doing things she has learned to do, but it takes time for her to learn that she can’t do everything and to learn the humility of allowing others to do what she cannot.

That’s what today’s passage is about. That’s all good if we can do what’s needed. The problem is that there are things we can’t do for ourselves or by ourselves. We can’t make money by ourselves. The only way we get legal currency is if were trade some good or service for it or it is given to us. Both those things involve other people. We can’t generally perform major surgery on ourselves. Even if we have the knowledge, it’s generally not wise. Most of us aren’t able to fix our cars, washers, computers, etc. by ourselves. Most of us don’t grow our own food or make most of the products we use. And somehow, we’re OK with all that, though I admit, I’m trying to learn to do some of them.

When it comes to our relationship with God – or our religion – somehow, that all changes. Suddenly, it is all about DIY. We get to decide what standard gets set, and it’s up to us to accomplish it. But even if we say it’s all up to the individual, we don’t really mean it, because we hold it to be self-evident that some things are evil. Those things we claim are self-evident aren’t negotiable. Someone else can’t get away with saying that the action is perfectly acceptable.

So, since we can’t live a sinless life on our own and cannot fix the damage done by our sins ourselves, doesn’t it make sense to seek the assistance of someone who can and does?