Friday, July 4, 2008

Superseding Indictment

I'm sort of in a knot. Which should not be much of a surprise if you know me. On the about me page on this blog, I address what activities I spend time doing; one of which, to my dismay, is worry. I wring my hands, I fidget, and I get anxious... and why? My dreadful conclusion is that I am too invested in what you think of me.
Suffering from the miasmic 'me driven' sickness of the soul that I am the center of the universe is sobering. I can imagine some of you are thinking, you don't do that Wallace, you are the least me driven character I know. To which I say-poppycock. If you really knew me, if you could crawl inside my head, you'd be awake to the truth of it. There are others of you who may have said, and rightly so, it is about time you confessed this. If this was your response, then it is likely you know how great your own sins are-what chasm separates you from the holiness of God.

The original indictment reads: On a date certain in April, 19__, in the province of earth, and before the finding of this indictment, Wallace Mercer did intentionally, knowingly or recklessly offend the holiness and complete faithfulness of God Almighty by exercising his or her will in opposition to the holiness and faithfulness of God Almighty; to wit: {here the exhaustive list of errors, great and small are to be inserted} and against the peace and perfect righteousness of God.

The punishment: Death. Period. No quarter. End of Conversation.

The remedy: Is it a promise to do it better? To live with more integrity? To be an ethical person? A granting of a 'do over'. Nope. Don't even go there. It is as I said-the exacting punishment of death is required.

The only remedy, the only sufficient one is a superseding indictment that was drafted in the hall of heaven before the foundation of the world.

It reads: On a date before time was, in the province of heaven, before the finding of this indictment in earthly time, A Lamb was slain, said Lamb being the person of Jesus Christ, who did intentionally enter the kingdom of this world, as human man, while simultaneously retaining the fullness of God; born of a virgin, by the Holy Spirit, he Jesus, lived an utter sinless life, obedient even to death, he subjected himself to the wrath of his Father, by imputing the sins of all to himself; therefore he incurred the full and complete wrath of his father and died to win the bride of his choice, the Church, by pouring out his life's blood as an offering for her, so that those rightly indicted because of their great or small shortcomings might be reconciled to Almighty God the Father by the Holy Spirit; and subsequent to the atoning work of him, Jesus, he, God the Father, raised him, Jesus on the third day by the Holy Spirit's power, and he Jesus, now sits at the right hand of the God the Father, ever interceding for sinners in the hands of a holy and righteous God.

Here's what really rankles me. Christ died for me while I was yet his enemy. His work atoned for my fallen nature before I was ever born. To merit this work of his all I have to do is receive it. I cannot earn it, I cannot get good enough to receive it. I must receive it my badness or not at all. He took my guilt and made it his, yet in his perfection he is sufficient and God the Father smiled on him, reckoning his obedience, suffering and death enough. I have no other who is capable of interceding for me but Christ crucified and Christ risen. May my worry for what you think of me and yours for what I think of you become ash under my feet and yours for the cause of the Gospel.

Soli Deo Gloria, again and again.

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