Because God loves us His plan for Atonement equals that love
Make An Atonement.
Throughout the Bible there is mention of making atonement for wrongs committed.
Atonement-
1. Amends or reparation made for an injury or wrong; expiation.
Reparation-
1. The act or process of repairing or the condition of being repaired.
2. The act or process of making amends; expiation.
3. Something done or paid to compensate or make amends.
4. Reparations. Compensation or remuneration required from a defeated nation as indemnity for damage or injury during a war.
Expiate-
To make amends or reparation for; atone: expiate one's sins by acts of penance.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
The reason for making an atonement, for an act of reparation, is quite involved and necessarily so, and yet very simple.
You wrong someone you make up for it.
You make something wrong then you make something right.
You injure someone and you have to help fix them again.
There are reasons our justice system has in place awards for damages suffered. I'm not saying that sometimes it's not all screwed up and people get awarded way more than they should or vice versa, but putting a price on suffering isn't easy to do.
Suffering is a personal thing. Torment is a personal thing. Causing someone to suffer even when you think you only hurt them a little bit is ludicrous because unless you're the person actually suffering you CAN'T know the degree of their pain. You think you can, but in reality you can't.
Emotional, mental pain is horrific. Wounds received from enemies are expected. Wounds received from those you love and trust, from those who are supposed to protect you and keep you safe cause the worst kind of suffering imaginable. When wounded by a loved one they've stripped away your sense of reality. They've taken from you the ability to feel protected, to trust. They've stripped from you the basic foundation of life and how do you ever make amends for something like that? How?
Yet an atonement needs to be made.
Do you think killing an animal compares to killing the Son of God? Is it equal at all in any way? The Son of God Himself, killed so that an atonement could be made for our sins, so that we could be made right again with God.
No. There isn't an animal sacrifice that can be made that can equal the sacrifice of the Son of God and yet throughout the old testament sacrifices were being made to cover the sins of God's people and once a year on the Day of Atonement all those accumulated, covered sins were transferred to a scapegoat and sent away forever.
People were told to make amends, to atone for the wrongs committed by each other. If you stole a sheep you had to make amends and give back even more than you stole. You are not only returning what you took you are paying for the crime of the stealing.
When Jesus came He told us to love our enemies, and yet if our enemies turn around and believe they should love us they will naturally atone for their wrongdoings.
Making that atonement first of all calls for admitting there was something done that needs to be atoned for. It's taking responsibility for the crime and letting the one you hurt know you realize you did something wrong. Making atonement shows that you want to make things right again, as right as you possibly can. You're guilty and you want to be make it right somehow.
No, you can't put a price on suffering. You might be able to put a price on a stolen car- you pay for the car, or return it and you compensate for all the hardship it caused. But how do you put a price on stealing innocence? Of stripping away trust? How?
It's no wonder some crimes were punishable by death by Old Testament standards. Because some crimes can never be compensated for in reality. You can't give back trust as you can a car. You can't give back innocence as you can a wallet. Crimes against the very core of a human being are the most heinous. You can't give back life if you've murdered someone, as you can a handful of jewelry. Some crimes steal so much more than people imagine.
So, how do you atone for something that you can't return?
You admit the wrong. You let the other know you realize the seriousness of what you've done. You tell them that you understand that you've done something horrific by stealing their innocence, by crushing the trust they placed in you. You own up to it-- not just once. You've destroyed something that can't be replaced and a single admission of guilt isn't enough. You do this as often as it takes. You don't ever reach a place where you can say I've atoned enough, not until the one you hurt decides it's enough and there isn't a time limit on something like this. Unlike giving back a stolen car and paying for damages where all is said and done, when you've stolen something you can't give back the small sacrifices of having to do all you can to atone, no matter what that may be is nothing in compared to the thing you took, NOTHING.
Atonement.
Because God loves us His plan for Atonement equals that love.
Because a person loves someone they've irrevocably hurt, they too need to plan to atone for that in whatever ways necessary for as long as necessary.
A single admission of guilt doesn't absolve a person. It's contrition, it's repentance.
repentance-
1. The act or process of repenting.
2. Remorse or contrition for past conduct or sin.
repent -
1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: repented of intemperate behavior.
3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.
contrition- (ken-trîsh´en) noun
Sincere remorse for wrongdoing; repentance
The act of repenting... the act of making a change for the better, the act of feeling remorse, the act of repenting is just that... an act- something you do and keep doing- making a change for the better. Making a change. It's a process, it's not something instantaneous. It's not simple.
When you've done something horrific it's something the injured party will NEVER forget, it will color their lives forever. They have to learn to live with what was done to them and find in life good things.
It's up to the wrong doer to do whatever it takes to help the one they've hurt recover as much as they can, whatever it takes.
By the grace of God when we are told to love our enemies, may the Holy Spirit guide us to do so. When we are called to forgive, Jesus, please help us to forgive. When we need to make amends to someone may the Lord help us to do what is right, guiding us to do so-- whatever it takes.
Please Lord.
By your mercy and grace, by your love.
Amen.
5/19/10
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven.
We don't want to think about that do we. Watching television and going to movies we are convinced that everyone goes on to a BETTER place. Or that people go on to a better or WORSE place upon death. To the bright light, which is good or to terror and darkness, which is bad. The Bible doesn't promote these beliefs and yet people will say they do.
Upon death we sleep but... the very next thing we'll know will be that we rise up and are changed to immortality or we rise up only to eventually die eternally without ever waking again. So yes, in a way there will be eternal light or eternal nothingness waiting for everyone of us after death's sleep whether it's a person who died 6000 years ago or the day before Christ returns the waking from death's sleep is when we all meet our eternal fate.
Jesus plainly stated, NOT EVERYONE will enter the kingdom of heaven... those who do enter are those who do the WILL of His Father in heaven. We must do the will of God, we must live our lives with God's will being done in us. The Lord's Prayer, a common passage from the Bible even talks of God's will.
Luk 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luk 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
Luk 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Thy will be done.
Yes, Lord THY will be done now and always by the mercy and grace of our Savior may Your will be done in us.
Amen.
5/19/11
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
We know not that we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. We believe we are rich and have all we need. This is the state of so many people in regards to their spiritual life. They need nothing, they need no more, they have all they'll ever need and yet… they have nothing. This is akin to our Savior saying to a people in the day He returns for us--
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
We wonder how anyone could believe they are Christ's, don't we? We should KNOW whether or not we are Christ's, shouldn't we? Yet there are a whole slew of people who don't know. These people are completely oblivious to their true state, this ought to frighten us, shouldn't it? The people just don't know! They believe they are but they aren't and they just don't realize it. How can we know? How?
We read this…
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing
…and don't we know? Rich and have need of nothing. Rich spiritually rich, needing nothing. Yet anyone who is TRULY Christ's knows that they NEED Christ's righteousness. Anyone who is truly Christ's knows they need so much and they need it constantly, never endingly. We can never use these words… I am without adding… with Christ by His grace. When we take any glory to ourselves we are stealing it from our Savior who deserves ALL the glory, ALL the glory!
We are NOT rich! We are NOT increased with goods. We DO NEED so much!
It's no wonder there will be many in the day Christ comes that THINK they are His but they are not, He doesn't know them, how can He know them? They are too busy caught up in themselves to really know Him.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Knowest not that thou art- wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.
We are wretched
We are miserable
We are poor
We are blind
We are naked…without Christ.
With Christ we can be rich in faith, clothed in His righteousness, and filled with the sight of Holy Spirit.
Only through Christ are we anything at all. Christ will know us because we live through HIM. When we aren't living on our own we have Christ living in us filling us with Himself, His righteousness, His grace, His love, His life. Is it any wonder He knows those who are His?!
By His grace and mercy may we be wholly His! Fully surrendered to Him, rich through Him, clothed by Him, filled with sight by Him, all to His glory!
Amen.
Throughout the Bible there is mention of making atonement for wrongs committed.
Atonement-
1. Amends or reparation made for an injury or wrong; expiation.
Reparation-
1. The act or process of repairing or the condition of being repaired.
2. The act or process of making amends; expiation.
3. Something done or paid to compensate or make amends.
4. Reparations. Compensation or remuneration required from a defeated nation as indemnity for damage or injury during a war.
Expiate-
To make amends or reparation for; atone: expiate one's sins by acts of penance.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
The reason for making an atonement, for an act of reparation, is quite involved and necessarily so, and yet very simple.
You wrong someone you make up for it.
You make something wrong then you make something right.
You injure someone and you have to help fix them again.
There are reasons our justice system has in place awards for damages suffered. I'm not saying that sometimes it's not all screwed up and people get awarded way more than they should or vice versa, but putting a price on suffering isn't easy to do.
Suffering is a personal thing. Torment is a personal thing. Causing someone to suffer even when you think you only hurt them a little bit is ludicrous because unless you're the person actually suffering you CAN'T know the degree of their pain. You think you can, but in reality you can't.
Emotional, mental pain is horrific. Wounds received from enemies are expected. Wounds received from those you love and trust, from those who are supposed to protect you and keep you safe cause the worst kind of suffering imaginable. When wounded by a loved one they've stripped away your sense of reality. They've taken from you the ability to feel protected, to trust. They've stripped from you the basic foundation of life and how do you ever make amends for something like that? How?
Yet an atonement needs to be made.
Do you think killing an animal compares to killing the Son of God? Is it equal at all in any way? The Son of God Himself, killed so that an atonement could be made for our sins, so that we could be made right again with God.
No. There isn't an animal sacrifice that can be made that can equal the sacrifice of the Son of God and yet throughout the old testament sacrifices were being made to cover the sins of God's people and once a year on the Day of Atonement all those accumulated, covered sins were transferred to a scapegoat and sent away forever.
People were told to make amends, to atone for the wrongs committed by each other. If you stole a sheep you had to make amends and give back even more than you stole. You are not only returning what you took you are paying for the crime of the stealing.
When Jesus came He told us to love our enemies, and yet if our enemies turn around and believe they should love us they will naturally atone for their wrongdoings.
Making that atonement first of all calls for admitting there was something done that needs to be atoned for. It's taking responsibility for the crime and letting the one you hurt know you realize you did something wrong. Making atonement shows that you want to make things right again, as right as you possibly can. You're guilty and you want to be make it right somehow.
No, you can't put a price on suffering. You might be able to put a price on a stolen car- you pay for the car, or return it and you compensate for all the hardship it caused. But how do you put a price on stealing innocence? Of stripping away trust? How?
It's no wonder some crimes were punishable by death by Old Testament standards. Because some crimes can never be compensated for in reality. You can't give back trust as you can a car. You can't give back innocence as you can a wallet. Crimes against the very core of a human being are the most heinous. You can't give back life if you've murdered someone, as you can a handful of jewelry. Some crimes steal so much more than people imagine.
So, how do you atone for something that you can't return?
You admit the wrong. You let the other know you realize the seriousness of what you've done. You tell them that you understand that you've done something horrific by stealing their innocence, by crushing the trust they placed in you. You own up to it-- not just once. You've destroyed something that can't be replaced and a single admission of guilt isn't enough. You do this as often as it takes. You don't ever reach a place where you can say I've atoned enough, not until the one you hurt decides it's enough and there isn't a time limit on something like this. Unlike giving back a stolen car and paying for damages where all is said and done, when you've stolen something you can't give back the small sacrifices of having to do all you can to atone, no matter what that may be is nothing in compared to the thing you took, NOTHING.
Atonement.
Because God loves us His plan for Atonement equals that love.
Because a person loves someone they've irrevocably hurt, they too need to plan to atone for that in whatever ways necessary for as long as necessary.
A single admission of guilt doesn't absolve a person. It's contrition, it's repentance.
repentance-
1. The act or process of repenting.
2. Remorse or contrition for past conduct or sin.
repent -
1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: repented of intemperate behavior.
3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.
contrition- (ken-trîsh´en) noun
Sincere remorse for wrongdoing; repentance
The act of repenting... the act of making a change for the better, the act of feeling remorse, the act of repenting is just that... an act- something you do and keep doing- making a change for the better. Making a change. It's a process, it's not something instantaneous. It's not simple.
When you've done something horrific it's something the injured party will NEVER forget, it will color their lives forever. They have to learn to live with what was done to them and find in life good things.
It's up to the wrong doer to do whatever it takes to help the one they've hurt recover as much as they can, whatever it takes.
By the grace of God when we are told to love our enemies, may the Holy Spirit guide us to do so. When we are called to forgive, Jesus, please help us to forgive. When we need to make amends to someone may the Lord help us to do what is right, guiding us to do so-- whatever it takes.
Please Lord.
By your mercy and grace, by your love.
Amen.
5/19/10
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven.
We don't want to think about that do we. Watching television and going to movies we are convinced that everyone goes on to a BETTER place. Or that people go on to a better or WORSE place upon death. To the bright light, which is good or to terror and darkness, which is bad. The Bible doesn't promote these beliefs and yet people will say they do.
Upon death we sleep but... the very next thing we'll know will be that we rise up and are changed to immortality or we rise up only to eventually die eternally without ever waking again. So yes, in a way there will be eternal light or eternal nothingness waiting for everyone of us after death's sleep whether it's a person who died 6000 years ago or the day before Christ returns the waking from death's sleep is when we all meet our eternal fate.
Jesus plainly stated, NOT EVERYONE will enter the kingdom of heaven... those who do enter are those who do the WILL of His Father in heaven. We must do the will of God, we must live our lives with God's will being done in us. The Lord's Prayer, a common passage from the Bible even talks of God's will.
Luk 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luk 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
Luk 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Thy will be done.
Yes, Lord THY will be done now and always by the mercy and grace of our Savior may Your will be done in us.
Amen.
5/19/11
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
We know not that we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. We believe we are rich and have all we need. This is the state of so many people in regards to their spiritual life. They need nothing, they need no more, they have all they'll ever need and yet… they have nothing. This is akin to our Savior saying to a people in the day He returns for us--
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
We wonder how anyone could believe they are Christ's, don't we? We should KNOW whether or not we are Christ's, shouldn't we? Yet there are a whole slew of people who don't know. These people are completely oblivious to their true state, this ought to frighten us, shouldn't it? The people just don't know! They believe they are but they aren't and they just don't realize it. How can we know? How?
We read this…
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing
…and don't we know? Rich and have need of nothing. Rich spiritually rich, needing nothing. Yet anyone who is TRULY Christ's knows that they NEED Christ's righteousness. Anyone who is truly Christ's knows they need so much and they need it constantly, never endingly. We can never use these words… I am without adding… with Christ by His grace. When we take any glory to ourselves we are stealing it from our Savior who deserves ALL the glory, ALL the glory!
We are NOT rich! We are NOT increased with goods. We DO NEED so much!
It's no wonder there will be many in the day Christ comes that THINK they are His but they are not, He doesn't know them, how can He know them? They are too busy caught up in themselves to really know Him.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Knowest not that thou art- wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.
We are wretched
We are miserable
We are poor
We are blind
We are naked…without Christ.
With Christ we can be rich in faith, clothed in His righteousness, and filled with the sight of Holy Spirit.
Only through Christ are we anything at all. Christ will know us because we live through HIM. When we aren't living on our own we have Christ living in us filling us with Himself, His righteousness, His grace, His love, His life. Is it any wonder He knows those who are His?!
By His grace and mercy may we be wholly His! Fully surrendered to Him, rich through Him, clothed by Him, filled with sight by Him, all to His glory!
Amen.