Within minutes of the verdict of the Casey Anthony trial, Facebook lit up with expressions of disbelief and anger at the "not guilty" verdict. I didn't follow the trial (I followed the OJ Simpson one back in the early 90's, and it was a total dog and pony show. I figured this one would be just like it, with similar results. I hate being right in those cases).
However, one post really hit me. It was from a friend of mine that wrote, "In times like this, I really hope there is a God so this lady will feel His wrath." That got me thinking. First, be sure that she will. The problem is- everyone will. Everyone that doesn't have Jesus' death atoning for their sins. When I read that post, I thought, "That's kind of like Stalin hoping that there was a God so that Hitler would feel His wrath." Now, please don't get me wrong- I'm not saying that my friend is like Stalin, who murdered over 30 million people. I'm saying we ALL are like Stalin. The Scriptures tell us that no one is righteous- all have fallen short, all have turned away, all have sinned. Because of that, all of us will face God's wrath . . . . unless we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Believe me, God's justice and wrath are real. If Casey Anthony doesn't have Jesus as Lord and Savior, be sure she will face the realness of God's wrath. So will the rest of us if WE don't have Jesus as Lord and Savior. It would be ridiculous for Stalin to hope in God's wrath to punish Hitler, because if God's wrath were real, He would punish Stalin too. That same justice that would punish Hitler would punish Stalin. In the same way, the same wrath that would punish Casey Anthony will punish us. So is it a wise thing to hope in God's wrath for someone else when God's wrath applies to us?
That's why the cross and the resurrection are so important. That's why I went into ministry and church planting when I could work about half as much and make twice or three or four times as much as I do here. I truly believe in the justice of God. I believe it in wholeheartedly, and God is not selective. He doesn't particularly care what WE think is right or proper. He doesn't play favorites and He doesn't grade on a curve. He doesn't accept what this world says is "good" (because even Adolf Hitler would define himself as "good"). He has laid down truth that shows how His justice is to be averted- by acceptance of His precious Son's death on the cross and belief in His resurrection; by allowing the sacrifice of Jesus to cleanse us from all sin so that we can truly be innocent of everything we've ever done.
It's in cases like this that the grace of God, which passes all understanding, becomes even more precious to me than it ever was. To realize that I am Casey Anthony, and Adolf Hitler, and Josef Stalin- and so are you- and that I deserve what they had coming, and that I don't get that because Jesus took it for me, still continues to stagger my mind. I never will fully comprehend how God could love someone like me- love me enough to endure the cross and take my sins away. I don't think any human can really ever understand that. All I know is the joy of what the old hymn says, "
"My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part, but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul!"
It is well, with my soul
It is well, it is well, with my soul."
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