He repays people according to their deeds. He treats people according to their ways. (Job 34:11)
That's not fair. I used to hear growing up that "The fair only comes in September." We as Americans are obsessed with fair. We call them rights though but it's really about what's fair. The American Dream is attainable for people that work hard, pull themselves up by their bootstraps, & go to work. You get out of it what you put into it. You are innocent until proven guilty. That's only fair.
The principle of sowing and reaping is Biblical. You reap what you sow. Galatians 6:7-8 says, "Don't be misled. Remember that you can't ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow! Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit." We get what we put into it. It's only fair.
Is this the way it always is? Is life always fair? Do we always reap what we sow? Do we always get what we deserve? Was this true in Job's life?
Indeed it wasn't. Job was not a perfect man but he was righteous and lived a godly life. He sought to love, please, & walk with the Lord. He was not guilty of some secret sin that he was refusing to repent of. So, was it fair what the Lord allowed this to happen to Job? Not hardly. Or is it?
God is God. He can do what he wants, when he wants, with whoever he wants, however he wants. He is God and we are not. I think if Job were here he would say that we don't want fair. We don't want God to repay us for what we have (or haven't) done. Job was righteous but he wasn't perfect. In fact, every human being that has ever lived has sinned against God and therefore is a sinner. All it takes is one sin to condemn us before a holy God. One sin to alienate us from his peace, forgiveness, fellowship, goodness, & love. One sin sets us on a path of hurting others, ourselves, & God. One sin defines our guilty status before a righteous Judge.
Just. One. Sin.
One sin kicked Adam & Eve out of the garden. One sin led to the murder of Abel. One sin led to the destruction of two entire cities. One sin led to 40 years of wandering instead of inheriting the promises of God. One sin caused a generation to miss the promised land of God. One sin caused a leader of a nation to miss the chance to enter God's land with God's people. One sin led to the destruction of a marriage, the death of a son, the murder of a husband, & the dismantling of a king's family (David). One sin led to the exile of a nation. And it was just one sin, that sin that started it all, that would lead to the death of God's son on a cross.
If we want to know what's fair & what we deserve, all we have to do is look at the cross. That's what sin does. Sin kills, steals, & destroys and we deserve that. That's fair.
And yet, this completely fair, righteous judge, does something completely unexpected. He accepts the death of his son in the place of sinners so that they can go free. And not only that, he takes them home with him to live in his house and have all the rights and privileges of his son that died to purchase them.
That's. Not. Fair.
And praise God it isn't! I don't want fair anymore, I want grace. I don't want fair anymore, I want mercy. I don't want fair anymore, I want to be adopted. I don't want fair anymore, I want the unfair love of God that I don't deserve that Christ made possible. I don't want fair because it means separation from God for all of eternity in hell for my sin.
I want grace, you can keep fair.
No comments:
Post a Comment