You might be thinking, “Is all this
talk about the Cross and my sin supposed to be good news?” Yes, it is! When we
see just how dire our situation really is, the Great Rescue becomes all the
more incredible.
Rebecca Pippert tells a story that
illustrates the transforming power of a proper understanding of the Cross.
Several years ago after I had
finished speaking at a conference, a lovely woman came to the platform. She
obviously wanted to speak to me and the moment I turned to her, tears welled up
in her eyes. We made our way to the room where we could talk privately. It was
clear from looking at her that she was sensitive but tortured. She sobbed as
she told me the following story.
Years before, she and her fiancée (to
whom she was now married) had been the youth workers at a large conservative
Church. They were a well-known couple and had an extraordinary impact on the
young people. Everyone looked up to them and admired them tremendously. A few
months before they were to be married they began having sexual relations. That
left them burdened enough with a sense of guilt and hypocrisy. But then she
discovered she was pregnant. “You can’t imagine what the implications would
have been of admitting this to our Church,” she said. “To confess that we were
preaching one thing and living another would have been intolerable. The
congregation was so conservative and had never been touched by any scandal. We
felt they wouldn’t be able to handle knowing about our situation. Nor could we
bear the humiliation.
“So we made the most excruciating
decision I have ever made. I had an abortion.
My wedding day was the worst day of my entire life. Everyone in the
Church was smiling at me, thinking me a bride beaming in innocence. But do you
know what was going through my head as I walked down the aisle?” All I could
think to myself was, “You’re a murderer. You were so proud that you couldn’t
bear the shame and humiliation of being exposed for what you are. But I know
what you are and so does God. You have murdered an innocent baby.”
She was sobbing so deeply that she
could not speak. As I put my arms around her, a thought came to me very
strongly. But I was afraid to say it. I knew if it was not from God that it
could be very destructive. So I prayed silently for the wisdom to help her.
She continued, “I just can’t believe
that I could do something so horrible. How could I have murdered an innocent
life? How is it possible I could do such a thing? I love my husband; we have
four beautiful children. I know the Bible says that God forgives all of our
sins. But I can’t forgive myself! I’ve confessed this sin a thousand times, and
I still feel such shame and sorrow. The thought that haunts me the most is how
could I murder an innocent life?
I took a deep breath and said what I
had been thinking. “I don’t know why you are so surprised. This isn’t the first
time your sin has led to death; it’s the second.” She looked at me in utter
amazement. “My dear friend,” I continued, “When you look at the Cross, all of
us show up as crucifiers. Religious or non-religious, good or bad, aborters or
non-aborters – all of us are responsible for the death of the only innocent who
ever lived. Jesus died for all of our sins – past, present, and future. Do you
think there are any sins of yours that Jesus didn’t have to die for? The very
sin of pride that caused you to destroy your child is what killed Christ as
well. It does not matter that you weren’t there two thousand years ago. We all
sent him there. Luther said that we carry His very nails in our pockets. So if
you have done it before, then why couldn’t you do it again?”
She stopped crying. She looked me
straight in the eyes and said, “You are absolutely right. I have done something
even worse than killing my baby. My sin is what drove Jesus to the Cross. It
doesn’t matter that I wasn’t there pounding in the nails, I’m still responsible
for His death. Do you realize the significance of what are you telling me,
Becky? I came to you saying I had done the worst thing imaginable. And you tell
me I have done something even worse than that?”
I grimaced because I knew this was
true. (I am not sure that my approach would qualify as one of the great
counseling techniques!) Then she said, “But Becky, if the Cross shows me that I
am far worse than I had ever imagined, it also shows me that my evil has been
absorbed and forgiven. If the worst thing any human can do is to kill God’s
Son, and that can be forgiven, then can anything else – even my abortion – not
be forgiven?”
I will never forget the look in her eyes as
she sat back in awe and quietly said, “Talk about amazing grace.” This time she
wept not out of sorrow but relief and gratitude. I saw a woman literally
transformed by a proper understanding of the Cross.
Just like the woman in this story, we
need to hear the bad news of the Cross before we can receive the Good News. And
for sinners like you and me, there’s almost too much Good News to take in.
Written By: Joshua Harris
From his Book: BOY MEETS GIRL (Say Hello to Courtship)
God Bless Us..
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