Isa 53:5 But he was wounded by our transgressions, he was bruised by our iniquities: the chastisement for our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
"...that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed” Remember,
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13) |
Long before humanity killed the external Christ of history, Jesus of Nazareth, they had killed Him in their hearts. The depravity of the human soul had sunk so low as to confuse love for hate and hate for love. Unqualified love had no roots within the human race much less a desire to dance in the arms of God under the sway of an eternal love. Every effort of God in history to move humanity toward sanity was met with violence. The steaming cauldron of self-loathing and self-deprivation was transferred to hating the very One who created them to be enriched beyond imagination. The wrath of God became humanity’s wrath toward God. One day, God said, "Enough!" and sent His Son to be obedient unto death, a death we cannot imagine.
Though we cannot imagine the depths of God's passion both for and by His Son Jesus the Christ, we know all too well our part in this redemptive process. His purchase price for us was the very cup we provided. The very pain He suffered, we inflicted. The righteous wrath on us was turned on Him. His accepting of us was lavished upon Him by our cruel hands. Think of a gauntlet so long we cannot see the end thereof. Each has a rod with which to 'cane' the one running the gauntlet. Enters the one to be beaten. This is a ‘no holds barred’ event. The runner is eternally doomed. Eagerly each punisher waits their chance to pour out their full indignation on the runner of the gauntlet. The runner is Christ, you are the one with the cane. As He comes up to you and looks within your soul with nonjudgmental Love, you begin to cane Him screaming out your pet mantras that capture your heart’s deepest pains. Many are accusations, even questions, "Why did You let my Mother, Father, brother, or sister die, kill herself, hate me? Why did you let me breathe one breath? You are the cause of my pain, I blame You. I will smite You time and time again until my heart is clear of all hate, resentment, and fear, and You lie dead at my feet. After I have beaten you a million times over I will find peace! But until you are dead, I'll have no peace!" For years He stands in front of you, bloodied and beaten by your fears, resentments, hate and rejection. Yes, He stands before you your whole life absorbing your disgust, cursing, slander, frustration, intolerance, and abuse. Sometimes you lighten the blows in strength and frequency just so He will live long enough for you to pour upon Him the total of your wrath. Your last blow ends upon seeing Him die. You finally have peace. For Him this is just the beginning. First Adam's anger, then Eve, Cain, Able and every person who ever was conceived before His eyes. Our pain, anguish, and deepest fears, we released, transferring them to His soul, so ours could be pacified. At any one point, in the face of any one person He could have said, "NO! For you I will not die! You are not worth one drop of my blood. I will not accept your wrath. I will not become your peace." He didn't then in history, nor today, as you blame Him before your family, friends, co-workers, political affiliates, even your religious clique. That gauntlet of wrath stood ready for Christ before the world was formed. Not one thing was put in place without God's Son ready to absorb humanity’s blame. At the end, after the last blow by the last human, the mystery of Christ in you and the Law of Life in Christ Jesus becomes our Life Eternal. We, corporately as well as individually have exhausted all our rejection on Him. Once we are empty of any hate or rejection, He, with arms outstretched, invites us each, individually, to sway to the music of Eternal Life in His embrace. He has brought us near to God the Father and Holy Spirit, not by making us sinless, flawless, or religious, but by making us acceptable and without one blemish in His sight. With tears we realize we are finished and turn toward God. Once exhausted (dead), we have peace with Mr. LOVE. The wrath we had for Him, is dealt with. Our core self of rebellion died with His death. His righteous anger toward us died as well. In Him we all died. Within three days He arose and lives, never more to die and we with Him. Now it is in Him we live, move, and have our very bring. Fear of today much less tomorrow is gone. Life has become an eternal possibility for us to embrace His Loving us and His Loving others. The very Spirit of Love works in us to do His ways in His time. Some live their lives trying to be good enough for God. Every such effort is but another swing of our cain upon His already bloodied brow. We have given Him our rage that He might give us His peace. This was His idea, His design, His intention. After all this, do you really think He will say, “You're out! I reject you.” |