I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying over the last couple days about "stuff". More specifically about "my stuff". Something happened earlier this week that sparked this introspection. We received the last few bags that we had been waiting for from our move here to El Salvador. Unfortunately (...or in retrospect, maybe it was fortunate...) many of our possessions were missing...likely stolen by the customs inspectors here. My immediate reaction was one of anger...intense anger. But God calmed me quickly with a reminder that the "stuff" that I have here on earth is not really mine and all gifts come from Him.
As I began to process this situation more though I turned to the Gospels. I felt as if I had been mistreated...taken advantage of...violated...and I turned to the Biblical account of Jesus persecution and death on the cross for answers. There is no better example of someone who had been wrongfully abused, undeservedly exploited, and completely violated than Jesus.
Surprisingly what gave me comfort was not how Jesus handled the torture of the cross, but the fact that God the Father put Jesus there in the first place. Crazy, huh? I've always seen the cross as a symbol of Jesus love for us, which it is...but it is equally a symbol of the perfect justice of God the Father.
Through my sin, I have done wrong to God...just like the people who stole my stuff did wrong to me. My God would not be a just God if there was not a penalty for that sin...just like our society would not be a just society if there were not penalties for theft. If Jesus had never died on that cross then the penalty for my sin would have gone unpaid. The only choice left would be for me to pay the penalty. I find comfort in the fact that God didn't just look the other way and excuse my sin...He didn't just forgive me and tell me that "it's OK Jake, I still love you". He insisted that the penalty for my sin had to be paid. The good news is that I didn't pay the penalty, Jesus did.
I would never want a God that just let everything go...just like I wouldn't want to live in a society that has no repercussions for murder or theft. It gives me great comfort to know that we serve a God who is perfectly just. That means that I don't have to spend another minute thinking about how to get back at those who wrong me. I look at the cross and cannot help but respond in love. I'm living in a country now that is filled with violence...murders are in the papers daily. For those who don't believe in the God that I believe in...a perfectly just God...revenge and violence are understandable responses when you are wronged. However, if you believe in the God that I believe in then you know that He is in control and His perfect justice will prevail in the end.
I pray that God will use us to spread his message of love and that we can be a small part of slowing and ending the violence that is so prevalent in this city and this country.
Hey Jake, awesome post! Sorry about the boxes but how awesome what God showed you through the whole ordeal. That would have been hard for me to.
Jim and I are so enjoying reading your and Becky's updates and seeing the pictures on facebook! We are praying for you daily. We hope to come visit you guys sometime in the next few years.
Hey, would you guys send me your mailing address? Lucy wants to write to the kids. Take Care, Danaly
Thank you for this post Jake. When you understand that it's not really your stuff, and not actually your time, it will change your life. And I love how God gives us multiple reasons to be obedient to His will (as if He needed to give one at all!). When we're upset because someone has violated our stuff or disrespected us, He says "It wasn't yours in the first place, justice is My department not yours, and all things work together for the good of those who love Me." Thank God that He reveals himself from multiple angles for slow learners like me!