Luke 9:23 (NET) — “Then he said to them all, ‘If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.’”
All progress in growing in friendship with God is predicated upon sacrifice. There is a cross at the heart of it. It’s simply impossible to get closer to God without giving something up, and then another something, and another.
Notice as well that when we give such things up, two things are happening:
1) first, we are actually repenting. We’re changing our minds, setting aside our relationship to something we thought was no problem.
2) Second, we do so in the interest of what we know is a better path forward and upward.
What may not be so apparent, however, is that what we’ve done that we’re leaving behind doesn’t just dissipate like fog. What we thought, said, or did, that was unhelpful, and perhaps downright cruel, did damage.
Giving that up — sacrificing it — however important, doesn’t erase that. Our failure to be helpful must be avenged. Why? Because of the intrinsic and incalculably great value God places on each of us.
So Principle #1 — We cannot affirm or uphold the value of something without a corresponding cost for damaging it.
If someone foolishly drops a clay vase that was sold to a museum for 2 million dollars, and no consequences are forthcoming, doesn’t that beg the question, was it really worth anything? Only if the foolish fellow is made to work for the rest of his life to try and pay off the 2 million is the value of that vase upheld.
So retribution affirms and upholds value.
Principle #2 — the more precious something is, the greater the retribution warranted.
So what does damaging something of incalculably great value warrant? Incalculably great retribution.
Now here’s a problem: both the unhelpful person and the person left unhelped are exceedingly and equally precious to God.
So in affirming and upholding the inestimable value of the mistreated person, endless retribution is warranted. But the abuser is also exceedingly precious to God and so even though warranted, God does not want to consign that person to endless retribution.
So he came up with a plan.
He himself would suffer the endless retribution on behalf of the offender. He would take his place in eternal hell. And because he, God, is eternal, he can experience it all on everyone’s behalf in a moment. But it’s a moment of such unspeakable torment that even he, in Jesus, wanted to be spared if at all possible.
Mark 14:35-36 (NET)
35 Going a little farther, he threw himself to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour would pass from him. 36 He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
He went through with it. Now we not only can be forgiven, our lives can be redeemed from the Pit of endless retribution.
