Forgiveness of the Cross is Transforming
“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’” Acts 9:1-4
At the beginning of the second quarter of a Rose Bowl Football Game, just after they had changed directions on the field, a player we will call Bill was badly bumped in the play but was able to recover a fumble. He brought the spectators to their feet by doing an amazing thing; he stared to carry the ball toward the wrong goal line. He ran brilliantly. Only after he was brought down by his own team mates did he realize what everyone else knew. He had been carrying the ball in the wrong direction.
This unusual experience is not uncommon for us. Looking back at our lives when brought down by bad habits or illness we discover that which others knew; we have been carrying the ball in the wrong direction. It may have been caused by confusion, ignorance, cowardice, or sin. Saul (later Paul) was tackled on his way to Damascus and was confronted by Jesus who asked “Why are you persecuting me?” The forgiveness and study that followed turned him around in an amazing way.
Let us go back to Bill and “the rest of the story.” He tells about what took place during the half-time in the locker room. Bill sat alone waiting for a discipline to come. He wished the earth would open and swallow him up. No one spoke to him. After the other returned to the field, the coach put an arm on his shoulder and said, “Remember, the game is only one half over. Get back in the game.”
Never in his life did he play as well as he did that second half of the game. He had been released and renewed by a powerful forgiveness, when he was expecting blame.
The forgiveness of the cross is transforming! God’s forgiveness does not mean a canceled past, but a changed person.
Prayer: We need your forgiveness, O God. We have sinned. We have carried the ball in the wrong direction. Sin seemed somehow exciting, or what everyone else was doing. Now, when we confront the cross we know we were sinning. Father, forgive us. Thank you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Mason Brown
Retired Clergy
Calvary Baptist Church
Denver, CO
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