Quote:
Originally posted by stuartj
More broadly however, the notion of JC dying on the cross to atone for our sins. This is an idea we (of Christian background) grow up with. But when you actually stop and think about the idea of God sending His Son as man to be killed- sacrified, so that He (God) could forgive us (His creations) our sins. How does that actually work, the human sacrifice thing?
|
Yeah Stuart, that is a tough one, and often THE big stumbling block for non-Christians. Fair enough. Here's an illustration I came up with that might help.
The big problem is that (if there is a...) God, the all powerful creator of the universe is over on that side of reality, and we're stuck over here as these puny little creations on a small planet, around a non-discrept star, in a not particularly memerable part of a very average looking spiral galaxy. What could we ever do for him?
Consider this. I've got a '69 911E which is my "baby". My daughters know it is very special to me. I love my daughters (6 and 9 years old by the way) and love to take them for rides in it. My daughters know I love them, but I love them every day and to some degree they also take it for granted since they've never been without my love. If you asked them how they know that I love them, they'd say that I hug them or feed them -- but hey, anyone can do that! So they know it, but they really don't know how much I love them. As far as what can they do for me -- not much since I feed, cloth and shelter them. They only have a few dollars in savings -- what could they ever give me that would matter?
To be honest, they also could never conceive of what it would take to buy my 911, or replace it. I love and trust my daughters, and so one day leave them the keys so thay can play in the car while I do some other stuff. Well, stuff happens, and they start the car and wrap it around a tree. Thankfully they're all right, but now they know that they're in trouble. They just destroyed "Daddy's baby". The fear in their hearts is HUGE!!! They know that I'm going to be angry.
When I find out -- my first reaction is to hug them and be thankful that they're still alive. I am angry, but that is secondary to my love and concern for their well being. The girls know that they deserve a huge spanking along with no TV for the rest of their life! But my response is not what they're expecting -- tell them that I'm upset about the 911, but I'm far happier that they're alive. I can replace the 911, but I can't replace them. Sure they may be grounded, or lose some TV for a little while, but they know that I've forgiven them because I haven't held them responsible for the full value of the 911. After that whole experience, they will have a better understanding of how much I love them. I love them a least enough to forgive them for destroying the 911.
In this analogy, I'm playing the part of God (metaphorically speaking), Jesus is the 911, and my daughters are all of us on Earth. Without the test of having the keys for the 911, there is little the girls could do or not do that would make a difference in our relationship. Jesus (God's one and only Son) was "entrusted" to the would. Unfortunately we "wrapped him around a tree"
. Ulp! But God, was able to pick-up the pieces (raise Jesus from the Dead) so that he could come back and tell us that it's OK. He's forgiven us. If God can forgive us for what we did to his Son (and to each other), then now there is a relationship across that great void from our reality to God's reality.
That's how I see it. Maybe not a perfect analogy, but maybe it will be helpful for someone.
