Recently I wrote about the situation in Austria, where a father locked his daughter, and subsequently their children, in a cellar beneath their house for 24 years. The comfort I took in this situation is that God is just and will judge him for these horrific acts (even if reports were that he would only be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison).
Since writing this, I’ve felt uncomfortable as I’ve realised that if he repents of his sin, and accepts the death of Jesus as death on his behalf, God will forgive him. God’s judgment will no longer remain on him. I’ve got to admit, this is hard to swallow, because I want God to judge him harshly, to pay him back for the evil deeds he has committed. To be honest, it seems unfair, as if he’d be getting off lightly. Perhaps you share this feeling.
I think this feeling I have is rooted in two false ideas:
- that there’s sin, and then there’s sin. I find it easy to separate the gravity of my sin from that of others, easy to consider the sin of others as more ’sinful’ than mine. Yet the Bible is clear – “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Regardless of the detail, we have all fallen short of what God requires.
- this first misconception is tied closely to the second – that ultimately, it’s against God that we have sinned. As David realised when he committed adultery with Bathsheba – “against you–you above all–I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me.” We may sin against others, but ultimately all sin is against God, who created us and who alone will judge.
Reflecting on this, I think I lack the right understanding of my own sin, and how much it grieves God. With a clearer understanding, I think I might gain a greater appreciation for the sacrifice of Jesus for me, rather than resenting the potential salvation of others.
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