Pick your current event:\u00a0 Politics.\u00a0 World development.\u00a0 Incident or issue.<\/p>\n
Choose the life circumstance:\u00a0 Profession.\u00a0 Family.\u00a0 Kids\u2019 sports or education.<\/p>\n
We are typically angry with any situation we perceive to be unjust.\u00a0 As blogged here recently, we have an innate need for justice…\u00a0 whatever the scenario may be…<\/p>\n
… be that in crime scenarios…<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em>… be that with dishonest politicians…<\/em><\/p>\n … be that with unfaithful spouses…<\/em><\/p>\n … be that with unscrupulous athletes…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n … be that with cheating coaches…<\/em><\/p>\n … be that with those who hurt our kids…<\/em><\/p>\n … or hurt us.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We desire justice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Allow me to articulate our need in a more arguably appropriate, colloquial way.\u00a0 We want someone to pay.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 We want someone to pay<\/em><\/strong> for the injustice.<\/p>\n \u201cHow dare this happen!\u00a0 There are innocent victims!\u00a0 Someone needs to pay for this!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n From trial to tragedy \u2014 from Trayvon Martin to the Colorado forest fires \u2014 when victims exist, we want someone to pay.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hence, we come to Easter.<\/p>\n With respect to all religions of the world, the Intramuralist finds it absolutely fascinating that Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, the Bah\u00e1’\u00ed faith, and the New Age Movement all agree<\/em><\/strong> that Jesus Christ was a real person who walked this Earth.\u00a0 Most all also acknowledge that Jesus was a wise man who had a special relationship with God.\u00a0 In other words, the factual existence of Jesus Christ is not in question.\u00a0 What we sometimes question is what Jesus said \u2014 and what he did, being the only person who violently died and then rose again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Funny, that questioning process is kind of what we do with people who say things we don\u2019t like.\u00a0 We intentionally distance ourselves from others when we don\u2019t like what they say, because what they point out is so hard to wrestle with \u2014 be those acquaintances, friends, or politicians that annoy us.\u00a0 Let\u2019s make no mistake about this; some of what Jesus said is incredibly difficult to wrestle with.\u00a0 I don\u2019t understand it all, and some things remain a mystery.\u00a0 And so what many of us do in order to diminish the need to wrestle with potential truth, is that we question an aspect of Christ\u2019s existence instead; it removes the individual need to wrestle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Christ\u2019s account is that he came here as the long awaited Messiah, the one for whom the world was waiting to \u201csave us\u201d from our sins.\u00a0 Interestingly, a lot of us don\u2019t think we need any \u201csaving.\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019re fairly self-reliant.\u00a0 Pretty decent people.\u00a0 But in the same breath we\u2019ll also acknowledge that none of us is perfect, and each of us has done some pretty rotten things; we\u2019ve thought even worse things.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the difference between Jesus and you and me.\u00a0 He is perfect.\u00a0 He had no dishonest thought nor unscrupulous activity nor questionable behavior.\u00a0 And so around this day some 2000 years ago, Jesus came to this planet and did the one thing we all keep wishing for someone to do.<\/p>\n He came to pay.<\/p>\n He came to pay for the dishonest thoughts, unscrupulous activity, and questionable behavior in you and me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Intramuralist believes that the reason we so crave for justice on this planet \u2014 the need we have for someone to actually pay<\/em><\/strong> \u2014 is because we don\u2019t fully grasp what Jesus did for us.\u00a0 We don\u2019t fully get that a perfect person would willingly pay for the imperfect.\u00a0 That’s what we are.\u00a0 We are imperfect people, created by a gloriously perfect God, who desires an intimate relationship with his kids, so much that he sent his only perfect kid to show us the way to that relationship.<\/p>\n So on this day, with recognition of the historical record, my prayer is that each of us would wrestle not only with who Jesus is and what he said, but also with what he actually did.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He paid.\u00a0 Someone had to.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Respectfully,<\/p>\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pick your current event:\u00a0 Politics.\u00a0 World development.\u00a0 Incident or issue. Choose the life circumstance:\u00a0 Profession.\u00a0 Family.\u00a0 Kids\u2019 sports or education. We are typically angry with any situation we perceive to be unjust.\u00a0 As blogged here recently, we have an innate need for justice…\u00a0 whatever the scenario may be… … be that in crime scenarios… … … <\/p>\n