You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. [Galatians 3:1] As I read through these opening chapters of Leviticus, all about the different sacrifices with which people were to come before God, I feel convicted that I need to face the sacrifice myself. I find the details, the blood and the gore, gruesome. But the message I am getting from this is that my sin is more serious, more gruesome, more destructive than I realize.
The Lord is impressing on my heart that these gruesome sacrifices were the consequence of my sin, and that the people then (and now) need to face that. Am I aware that my self-centered focus, my use of slight deception to make myself look better, my hurtful words and thoughts towards those that cross me, my lack of concern for those that suffer or struggle, my indifference to injustice, my escapist tendencies, etc, are all contributing to the brokenness and misery of this sad world. You might think I am exxagerating, but I am trying to see my sin from God’s point of view. Its the same as the pollution of the environment; if I do not take responsibility for my small part, then I am still a part of the problem. The same with the pollution of sin. All of us should face this. We are collectively responsible for the mess this world is in, and we each need to accept responsibility for our small piece of it.
For us today, the gruesome cost of sin is best seen in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, the gory details of which we prefer not to dwell. Which leads me to the conviction that I need to view Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ”. Paul reminds the Galatians that he clearly portrayed Jesus Christ as crucified, before their very eyes [Galatians 3:1]. He made them focus on Jesus’ suffering, not because of a morbid delight in gore, but to show them both the extent of our sin and the extent of God’s love. I spent some time confessing specific sins to the Lord, using sticky notes. But now I need to face the price that Jesus paid.
So tonight, I am going to watch “The Passion of the Christ.” I will stand before the altar of the cross, see the sacrifice that my sin/our sin results in, and then bask in the wonder that through His sacrifice on my behalf, I am forgiven. I am now free to help Him be a part of the solution, not just part of the problem.