Do you remember this guy? Maybe not by face, but he's the one who took a family hostage in New Hampshire, sent the wife to the bank for ransom money, beat the tar out of the husband of the house, tied up the 17 and 11 year old daughters, killed the wife when she returned, then set the house on fire. The husband escaped and the two girls died of smoke inhalation.
He deserves the death penalty he's getting.
But do you know the difference between him and us? Not so much that he committed these atrocities; not so much that he destroyed a family. No. It's that he knows he deserves what's coming to him. You and I, on the other hand, think we deserve mercy!
This guy has simply shown what human beings are capable of doing, given the right set of circumstances...and you are not beyond its reach. We think our "petty sins" against the Almighty are nothing compared to what this animal did. Yet, those sins are more heinously gruesome to God than are this man's crimes against society. We don't hate sin nearly as much as God does, and we think our sin is minor by comparison.
We think we've been "good enough" to deserve demand God's mercy on us. We think He somehow owes us His forgiveness. But in reality, you and I deserve justice. We deserve an eternal death penalty for our sins. Apart from Christ, we are left to bear the consequences of our own sin before the Almighty. But the Spirit of life in Christ has set us (those who abide in Christ and who are His) free from the law of sin and death. Thank God Christ would be sin on our behalf.
Dead. On.
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful for Christ's death on my behalf.
ReplyDeleteI recently read this quote from Denise Levertove that I think relates to what you're saying here:
"It's when we face for a moment the worst our kind can do, and shudder to know the taint in our own selves, that awe cracks the mind's shell and enters the heart."
The "chilling" truth brother!
ReplyDeleteI would venture a guess that that man doesn't agree at all that he deserves what he's getting. Often in a depraved mind, it's always someone else's fault.
ReplyDeleteI'm just curious...this comment you made:
"We think our "petty sins" against the Almighty are nothing compared to what this animal did. Yet, those sins are more heinously gruesome to God than are this man's crimes against society."
is that Biblical, or is that your opinion?
I did find this in Genesis:
Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
TBR, I think it is a very biblical statement because God is so repulsed by sin that "He sent His own son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh..." (Romans 8).
ReplyDeleteThe point is this: do you hate your own sin so much that it caused you to do what God did? Doubtful. And do you hate your own sin so much that you have never committed the same sin twice? Doubtful there, too. I know I don't...wish I could, but Christ did it on my behalf (again, Romans 8).
I agree with your Genensis quote, that he should get the death penalty. But it goes much further than that when it comes to spiritual death.
And, by the way, you're probably right in suggesting he's blaming it on someone else. But deep down, I think he knows he's getting what he deserves.
Thanks for the thoughts!
Gregg, chilling is a very descriptive word indeed.
ReplyDeleteTracy, that is one heady quote. I'm going to commit it to memory with my scripture 2010 memorization plan. Thank you!
I am a sinner and thus, I deserve Hell. Plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteMy pastor has a similar mindset and when people ask him how he's doing, he often replies "better that I ought to".
Excellent post!!! Thought provoking and as Gregg says "The Chilling Truth"... sounds like a blog title doesn't it! :)
ReplyDeleteJD, I have always liked that reply...
ReplyDeleteLibby, thank you. Very chilling thoughts, indeed.