Grace Found In Murder

“Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled." (Acts 3:17-18)

As Peter continued his message to the men of Israel, this is when he really started getting to the meat of the message. Up to this point was illustration: the healing, the reminder of the crucifixion, the mini-lesson in God's power. These were a preamble to the Gospel message Peter was about to share. This next part of the message, Peter began by echoing the words of Jesus. He'd already reminded these men about the man they killed, and now he was reminding them of what He said from the cross: "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing." 

But what were they doing? It turns out, much like Joseph's brothers, their actions were being used to fulfill God's will, more or less in spite of their intentions. 

What grace! 

In spite of wicked and jealous hearts, God provided a way for even these men to be saved -- and He did it using the very wickedness He'd come to heal! 

The fact is, we've all stepped outside of God's will. Romans 3:23 reminds us, all -- everyone -- has sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Many of us have made such a mess of things, we don't know whether we can ever be right with God. We wonder how a just and righteous God could ever forgive the things we've done, the lives we've lived. 

Yet, even in our sins, we discover a path back to Him, if we choose to find it. Peter echoed the words of Christ in offering salvation, even to the men who clamored for Jesus' execution. Surely, God has grace enough for you, too.

Happily Ever After

It's a classic tale of good versus evil: a White Knight, a King, rides from His kingdom into a dangerous wilderness, His one goal to rescue His beloved. It's a story of charity, grace, and self sacrifice. It is, of course, the story of Jesus Christ. A King who left His kingdom to live among us, to teach us how to love, and to rescue us from the dragon of our own sinful natures.

No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
 
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (John 3:13-21)

We are, all of us, in a high tower built by our own hands, and awaiting release. Our burden is twofold, then: first, to recognize our prison for what it is, and second, to recognize the One who can set us free. This Jesus, so great was His love, he willingly allowed Himself to be lifted up -- nailed to a cross -- and killed as an atonement for our sin. He offers His forgiveness, the price for everything we've ever done or ever will, paid in full, and asks nothing in return but that we love Him back.

Today is "Read a Fairy Tale Day." So why not start with the greatest of all of them -- greater still because it really happened, and is happening today -- the story of a God who loved us so much, He sent His son, a King, to bring us back to His side. It doesn't get any more "happily ever after," after all, than an eternity at the side of a God who loves you enough to die.

Celebrate Humiliation?

I'm a prideful man. It actually takes quite a lot to wound my pride, but when it happens, I have a harder time recovering from it than I do actual physical injury. Partly, it's human nature. From the time we're small, a fall, for example, is always made worse when somebody is watching.

So, no. I don't like to be humiliated. And yet, there's Jesus, telling us to go against human nature and not only embrace humiliation, but celebrate it!

 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Mt 5:11-12)

Jesus has a way of doing that, doesn't He? Reminding us that, in Him, we are different creatures than what we've always known? Of calling us, instead, to excellence and holiness, and then, of all things, providing us the perfect example in His own life!

But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads. (Psalm 22:6-7)

As Jesus watched from the agony of the cross, soldiers cast lots for his clothes. A crowd of people mocked him through his pain. And His response? "Father, forgive them."

So yes. Jesus asks you to celebrate humiliation. It was by His humiliation that you and I can call ourselves Sons and Daughters of God. And it is in our humiliation that we recognize our Heavenly inheritance is greater than the temporary pains of this world.