I will always remember the vivid picture painted in a novel I once read. I may be butchering it a bit, but from my memory (and interpretation) it goes like this:
It begins with a father who is placed before the judgement seat, and the judge turns to him and says, “Alright, you have three kids right? Well I’ve been looking at the records, and it seems like they’ve got a lot of indiscretions. I’m going to need you to authorize them to be killed seeing as you are the father.” With this statement, the father immediately is on edge. He responds, “I can’t do that! How could you ask that of me! They are my flesh and blood! I love each and every one of them. I can’t authorize them to be killed!” The judge replies, “You must. They are guilty. Unclean. Unfortunately, the price must be paid,” and the man in desperation pleads, ” No, no! There must be another way. There must be some way around this.” After a moment of silence he turns to the judge and says, “I’ll do it. Kill me instead. Leave my children. Take me.”
In his deep love for his children, his “workmanship” if you will, he offers his own life in the place of theirs. Because of the depth of his love, he is willing to sacrifice his own well-being just to know that the fruit of his loins will not perish.
At the end of this discourse the judge says to the frantic father tears now flowing down his face, “Funny. I know a Father who said the same thing.”
Many times I believe we miss both how great the the Lord’s sacrifice was on the cross, but more so how much greater his love must have been that he was willing to do it. Like the frantic father, God knew he had to make a way. Though we deserved death, that option just didn’t sit well with him so he became the way–the way to righteousness, the way to holiness, and the way to life abundant and eternal.
I challenge the world to receive the sacrifice, but not just as a “get out of jail free card” but rather as the gateway to living and not just existing.