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We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6 Sheep don’t decide “I don’t like following the rules. I guess I’ll play hooky today.” Or choose to rob a bank or figure on embezzling a million dollars or murdering someone. They just wander off, seeing some good looking grass or looking for water, and suddenly discover that they’re not with the rest of the flock.
For most of us it’s pretty much the same. It’s so much a part of being human that it is part of our vocabulary and equipment: “Oops” and “Excuse me” and better yet, “I’m sorry.” We have erasers, back space and delete, stain removers, bandaids to help correct mistakes that have been made. And we have aprons, spell check, railings, rules, calendars to help protect us from making mistakes. And yet we still make mistakes, mess up, hurt people, yield to temptations, become self involved and miss the chances to reach out and help someone else, fail to do what’s asked of us, let worldly attractions become important, neglect the natural world entrusted to our care. Probably few of us are engaging in big bad things, activities the world would label as criminal, but we, like sheep, go astray, turning to our own way. It’s part of being human. And God, knowing this, made provision for healing all of it, and came into the world as a baby, who lived a human life, and then was sacrificed so that our sins were paid for. We did nothing to earn it, and everything, wittingly or unwittingly, not to deserve it. The Lord gave us the greatest gift of all – redemption and restoration to right relationship. Carolyn Chase |
