August 27, 2009

Daily Reflection

Disciples of Christ-Visalia

Hoesa 11: 8 "How can I give you up, Ephraim?
       How can I hand you over, Israel? …..
       …..My heart is changed within me;
       all my compassion is aroused.

    9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
       nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
       For I am God, and not a human being—
       the Holy One among you.
       I will not come against their cities.

Theologians talk about whether or not God demands payment for sin.  This is conversation is called atonement theory.  Traditionally, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Why? There had to be a sacrifice.  In the cosmic balance for God to still be God, he had to ask for payment for our sins.  Here is this scripture where God has laid out his accusations against Israel.  Israel is found guilty and should be punished.  Then God says, “How can I?  I am not human, but I am God.”  God breaks that balance.

When we think about justice, do we view justice from the point of view of God or from our own sense of justice?  I will be talking about this, this weekend.  But with the atonement, that divine algebra never really made sense to me.  I sang the songs and the songs were good.  However, as I thought about it…I don’t want Jesus to die for me.  Those sins are mine and nobody should die for what I have done.  I feel a little better about going against the grain of Christian tradition, because of this scripture.  “I am God, not a human being.”  It may make sense that somebody needs to pay the debt, but God owns, creates, and sets the rules if he does not need a sacrifice why does he need Jesus to stand in for me.  I do not want God to die.  I would gladly take the place of Jesus to let Jesus live.  These were thoughts I had as a kid.  They still linger, no theology class really worked through them.  .

Here is this line, God cannot punish.  Why? He loves Israel.  Can God punish me ultimately?  How strong is God’s love for me?  I am not saying that there is not a serious consequence to our sin, but ultimately where is that.  In this story, God would let us off the hook on earth to judge us on the last day.  I don’t think that is what is happening here.   I might be a heretic, but OK.

The whole of Hosea is a love song of a jilted lover.  God moves between rage to compassion.  As I know the stories of Jesus, that heart of God beats to the rhythms of love. What I know of God from Genesis, Hosea, and Jesus is this.  God created me.  God loves me.  God wants the best for me.  He went so far to reach me as to leave the throne of heaven and come to earth as Jesus.  When the world needed to be punished for killing God, Jesus said, “Forgive them they don’t know what they are doing?”  What does God want? He wants those centurions nailing him to the tree. He desperately wants you and me.  He will do anything for that, even if that means breaking the cosmic scales.  For that kind of God who loves that much, I need to give my life to Him.

This idea of steadfast love, Hesed.  Means that God’s love endures forever.  God’s love endures all things.  Does ‘all things’ mean my sin?

Do you believe that God really loves you?

If you do, how will you live that out in your life?

If you don’t, what will prove it to you?  Can I help you experience that steadfast love?

How can you give you life to God who forgives all my sins, even the ones you will not speak out loud to anyone?

Will you give your life to that God who so loves you that He comes to you?