Only God

Only God could have figured this one out.  What is beyond our finite ability to figure out is something set forth by the Apostle Peter in one of his letters to the church.  His first epistle is a favorite of many because of the strong and certain call to live a holy life.  Holiness is much misunderstood and misinterpreted by many church folks of our day.  Another thing about which Peter wrote that troubles some folks is found in I Peter 2:24.  In that place the Word of God says, "He (Jesus) Himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness..."  What Peter is talking about has been the subject of many who have written volumes and there are still more volumes to be written.

 

Without aiming for naïve simplicity as some might say, it just seems there are some things which only God could figure out how to do.  On my best day of  theological clarity, understanding how our sins could have been borne by Jesus on the cross, even before we were born to commit them, is a mind boggling consideration.  But, I long ago came to the conclusion that I do not have to have clarity about what God has done and is doing in order for it to be a reality upon which life can be based.   What I do believe in the core of my being is that the death of Jesus on the cross in some mysterious way has provided a way for me to live as one seen not as an unacceptable sinner, but a loved child of God. 

 

The Word says Jesus bore our sins on the cross so that we might be free from our sins.  No one will argue that committed and un-confessed sin is a  powerful force which robs us of our life.  It under minds our own sense of personal worth; it keeps us looking over my shoulder to see when the hammer is going to fall; and it taints our every relationship.   There is, therefore, no way for us to live without a heart full of gratitude to God for what He has mysteriously done for me and for everyone through the death of Jesus on the cross.