Caught in the Middle of a Paradox
by Sarah MacDonald—
Some people act like they could care less about anything but shopping, others dread the holidays and act more uptight and frustrated than usual. And still some seem somehow happier, and some even celebrate the birth of Christ. But why? You don’t understand how people could think that God became a child when God is one. Don’t these people know that they will stand before God one day and give an account for all they have done? Will they measure up to the standard? True peace and oneness with God, that is what they should be longing for. Why aren’t they worried about doing more good deeds? They seem to exalt Christmas like something about it could somehow save them, but how could that be? When God is one, how could they say that a child could save them? Surely you measure up to the standard...
Imagine you are about to face judgment. You can’t see, and you begin to panic, because you don’t know what’s happening. Crying, afraid of the judgment to come, you wince as you hear a thundering around you. You realize where you are. God’s holiness is ready to judge you, ready to put you into your rightful place with His holy standard. Think about these questions honestly, and please stop to reflect on whether you’ve broken these as you read each one. Imagine yourself getting further and further away from God with each command you break, and just think about how much it must hurt a holy God that you have broken His perfect standard. Think about how much His perfect character must hate sin.
How many sinful thoughts roam your mind each day? Would you allow your family and friends to see the thoughts you have on an everyday basis? Would you be ashamed if they knew? As you imagine how terrible that would be, try to imagine those same thoughts being revealed in the presence of God. That lust, pride, idolatry, coveting, hatred, and blasphemy, in the presence of God alone. All that you commit in the mind is just like committing the actual act, because God is so holy, He sees the thoughts and intents of the heart.
How many lies have you told? Have you stolen before God? What about with your time; have you wasted valuable time God gave you, time you’ll never get back? Resources? Are you wasting the resources God has given you? Have you been sexually immoral? Had lust in your heart? Hated or killed someone? Dishonored your parents?
How much time do you set aside for God? How many times have you misused His holy Name? You fail to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength every second of your life.
You are left with no hope. There is no reason for a holy God to allow you to enter His Heaven. But God is merciful and most gracious, you may say! God is a just, holy judge. He cannot be corrupt. Therefore, He cannot let you free. If He let you go, He would be unjust. Darkness cannot dwell with light. Light corrupts the darkness.
You look around at the people around you. Do they even care? Will they continue to put up Christmas lights, and continue to live in sin, and not worry about giving an account before God?
Something hits you, and you fall on your knees in anguish. You realize: if God is one, and He is just, there is no way for Him to let you go free. There is no way you can atone for your own sins. Innocent blood needs to be shed for your sins, and you know a lamb would never work. You cannot repay God, because your sin is too great. You are caught in the middle of a paradox you can’t figure out, and your eternity depends on it! God cannot uphold justice and forgive your sins at the same time. That would violate His character. He will not allow you to go free unless innocent blood is shed for your sins. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. But who is perfect? No one is perfect but God, and God is one! How will you ever settle this?
If you are reading this, and you are cut to the heart because of your sin before a holy God, keep reading. If you understand your need for your sins to be forgiven, and realize that you could die at any moment, keep reading this, read this carefully.
You are locked in a jail. There is no way out by any human means. You can cry out to Allah, you can fast, you can take a pilgrimage to Mecca, you can die as a martyr, and you still will not atone for your own sins. You cannot unlock yourself. You cannot harm yourself, shed your own blood, because it won’t do anything. You cannot make yourself one with God. You are separated from Him, and because of His holiness, and His goodness, He cannot let you go free. He cannot let you corrupt heaven. Because He is not a corrupt judge, you need to pay the penalty.
You may say, I’m sorry! God is a good judge, so he should forgive me if I say sorry, right? No! God would be a corrupt judge to let you go free based on your own works. Just because you say sorry, that doesn’t dismiss your crime. You cannot be your own savior from sin.
But God, in His holiness, sent Himself, in His divine sovereignty and perfect glory, to be our Savior. He lived a sinless life, He suffered like you do, He felt pain like you do, He humbled Himself, and lived His whole life, tempted, but never sinning.
We could not be one with God, so God came down to be with us, to enable us to be one with God. He is Immanuel, God with us. We need to be found in Christ because Christ is one with God the Father. We must clothe ourselves with His righteousness so that we can take refuge in Him on that day when God’s wrath is poured out for the sins of the world. We are completely separated from God and isolated because of our sin. We deserve the cruel depths of hell, but Christ paid the penalty to forgive us. The weight of all our sins was upon Him.
He died on a cross, and He rose again from the dead. He proved Himself to be God. He paid your fine for you. He allows us to enter in the presence of God to be with Him forever. Jesus Christ is the only answer to the dilemma you are stuck in. This was the only way to satisfy justice, the only way to satisfy the wrath of a holy God. Perfect love mixed with perfect justice. Think about it. Think about what Tawhid is. Oneness with God.
You can never be one with God without the shed blood of Jesus Christ. He is fully God. He is God in the flesh.
He alone is oneness with God. He is the only way to be forever with God! He called you to deny yourself, to forsake your life of sin, and to surrender to His holiness.
Consider this now! You can die at any moment! Repent, turn from your sins, and to turn to Christ.