There is Good News and bad news. Which do you want first?

Posted by markbullman on Dec 12, 2008 in Daily Bread | 2 comments

Oswald Chambers puts it this way, “the gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service – I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.”

As Chambers suggests, this passage provides a tremendous sense of relief that our Heavenly Father has chosen to redeem us – to free us from the punishment we justly deserve – and yet it creates a horrible sense of resentment because, to be forgiven, we have to accept that we need this gift that Christmas is really all about. And by the way…  we cannot do anything to earn it. This truth is so powerful that when Luther reminded the world that this is the true Gospel of Christ in the 16th Century, it tore the church apart.  It still makes us squirm in our seats on Sunday mornings today.

As a former police officer, I have a confession to make.  I love the show, The Sopranos. In one episode (interestingly entitled “He is Risen”), after being troubled by the near death experience of a “family” member, Tony Soprano is asked by his therapist whether he feels he needs forgiveness for his sins.  He began justifying himself saying that only the “really bad” people like Hitler, Pol Pot and those who hurt children needed forgiveness from God to avoid the consequence of hell. This, right after he had killed a man, cheated on his wife, and extorted money from a hard-working business man. At the same time, Tony’s cohort, Paulie, who was likewise scared by the prophesy of hell and punishment, visits his parish priest and asks if he is doomed for his bad conduct. When the priest informs him that all his donations over the years (while appreciated) will not get him into heaven, he leaves, promising never to come back.

We might laugh, but so many believe that only the “really bad” people need forgiveness that comes from the blood of Christ – and surely we aren’t the bad people.  Others of us feel we have earned the right to a place in heaven because of our “sacrifices” over the years.  After all, where would the church be without our efforts?  The reality of Romans 3 is that we all need this free gift wrapped in rags and laid in a barn 2000 years ago, and we can’t buy it.

The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns.

So… there is a gift from your Father under the tree with your name on it.  Have you opened it?