"Crime and Punishment" and Then There is Forgiveness!

“God's justice, tardy though it prove perchance,
Rests never on the track until it reach
Delinquency”(Robert Browning, Cenciaja)

Looking back into the past, I vividly remember an exchange I had with a friend. With very little effort I can conjure to mind the exact content of our conversation. Struggling with her own faith she asked in all earnestness, “Why does God require a sacrifice?” My credentials as a theologian equipped enough to answer questions of that profundity go only as far as being a clergyman’s daughter. I didn’t attempt to answer her question as if I understood everything back then and that is still not my intention. However I want to share my understanding as best as I possibly can.

From the abyss of confusion, as an ardent seeker she asked why God would require a sacrifice to cancel sin. If God is all powerful, could He not have annulled the penalty with a wave of his hand? What was the purpose of a sacrifice? And why was there a gruesome sacrifice on a cross? Answers are indeed hard to come by.

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" (Browning, Andrea del Sarto)

When language and even coherent thoughts flounder in such seas, I like to bring to mind my uncomplicated mother’s anecdotes (I’m sure she read it somewhere, but only she could use it so appropriately) – simple yet steeped in insightful wisdom.

There once lived a Judge, wise and honest was he; but his better virtue was his heightened sense of justice. He had a barefaced braggart for a son who was vain and wanton. The father’s repeated reproof and persistent plea fell on deaf ears for this son continued in his vicious ways. One day, along with his equally prodigal friends he decided to go on a joy-ride in a stolen car. While recklessly driving this expensive car, he drove into a wall. He and his friends were spared however as ones being saved from the very jaws of death because the car was mangled and destroyed beyond recognition or repair. It was an offence and the case was brought before the Judge; everyone waited with bated breath wondering what this just Judge would do. Would he pardon his son, He was definitely vested with that power. Or would he punish him with a judgement he deserves.

With the poise that the office demands, the Judge pronounced the judgement. It was the highest penalty. The accused was to pay in full for the car. The audience exclaimed, some with approval and others in shock, for it was a well understood truth that it was a near impossibility - the son could never bear such a fine. Amidst the various response, one stands out - the just act of the Judge and the anguished love of a father. I call it one response because it stems from one man – The Judge, the father. After pronouncing the judgement, the Judge removed his judicial robe and walked to the accused, took out his cheque book and he paid the fine.

His sense of justice prevented him from dismissing the offense of the son; and therefore he meted out that verdict. He also knew that there was no way his son could pay for his offence; hence in love he bore the punishment himself. In answering my friend’s questions, (Why does God say that the wages of sin is death? Why can’t he dismiss it and pretend like it didn’t exist?) I can only say that God is just and His fairness wouldn’t allow it. However the story doesn’t stop there, for if it did stop with the justice of God, we would all perish. It extends to the love of God that made a provision for us in the death and resurrection of Christ, even my Saviour (John 3:16; 1 Peter 3:18).

May our response to the love of God always be as reverential as our response to the justice of God.

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"Crime and Punishment" (Dostoevsky)

The Roses Outside Our Window!

"Life wouldn’t be worth living if I worried over the future as well as the present”

(W. Somerset Maugham (1874 – 1965), ‘Of Human Bondage’, 1915)

Invariably our every waking minute is plagued by anxiety and we agonize even in our dreams. Worry sometimes appears to have become synonymous with our very existence. We spend our days in a blurry rush, from one fretful thought to another. This belaboring of the point perchance is a reflection of what used to be mine own disquiet with stepping into the unknown.

I have always been a worrier, my father would say in jest that I worried because I had nothing to worry about; under the weight of this crushing load I have often envied that resilient quietude that my husband possesses. My dear mother also had the self same disposition of tranquility amid the tempest (God knows she was buffeted by many a tumultuous wave). And often I wonder why that quietness and peacefulness has so eluded me.

I must confess that the stillness of heart hasn’t eluded me, on the contrary I have hid myself from it. And in so doing I have cheated myself the joy that is indeed my portion. However there is hope for me yet and there is for you too even if you traveled long on that vessel called worry.

I read an online devotional yesterday and it was not merely inspiring but challenging as well. The passage of scripture was an account of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and the subsequent years in the wilderness. The narrative of their constant complaining irks us and we are all too quick to criticize the shortness of their memory of God’s goodness. It wasn’t long before I realized that in accusing them I am only indicting myself because I am just as guilty. God has in the past accomplished near impossible things in my life yet I look to things in the future and worry. This worry ,I know, is but grumbling in disguise. I need to believe, we need to believe that He who wrought great things in the past still has the power to bring to pass far greater things in the future.

If I stop here I won’t be sharing the lesson I learned; because there were some soul searching questions at the very end of the aforementioned online devotional that opened my eyes to a condition I hadn’t seen. Those questions, it seemed, were intended solely for me; “What were the reasons behind the Israelites' chronic lack of faith? What are the wonders God has done in my own life? Why is it that I fail to trust God despite evidence of His goodness and power?” The answer rang loud and clear, Discontentment. I never fully appreciate the goodness of God’s gift, I am forever seeking after fresher bestowal. I must clarify that I am an exponent of dreams and visions for our tomorrows; however we must understand that it is but a fine line that separates dreams and discontentment. We do have the right to dream but it is definitely not God honoring to be discontent.

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today" (Dale Carnegie).

Hope these words of wisdom will egg us on to be grateful to God for all His blessings; will encourage us to live this gift called now and here.