He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24
Through love, humility and duty to God the Father, Christ accepted the unacceptable – first to be burdened with ugly, hateful sin, then to be punished, and then to die for those sins.
It must have been so painful for one so pure, with a soul unsullied and a mind focused on love and goodness, to experience the evil thoughts we all have, let alone imagine the most evil deeds that permeate mankind. Christ, like an innocent lamb, not only had to take on the sins of the wolfish heart, but he also was punished as if those sins were, indeed his own.
As a light from heaven, Christ submitted to being sullied and darkened. Prayerfully, but dutifully he drank our cup of fleshly poison. But, while his flesh was broken, the light of God was not. With his rising, the pure light shone as a beacon – calling each of us to slip from our sin, and rise in love. With his sacrifice, the sinful bonds that tied each of us to evil, and to hell, was carried away, and the door to live everlasting was opened.
It is up to us, however – to walk through that gate, into life everlasting. What a curiosity that this is often a very difficult task for us mortals to accomplish.
Joanne Howl
