....thief

I heard the touching story of an Indian chief who had a reputation for being a really great leader. In fact it was said that he was always just, but he was also always loving. 

There had been some theft in his tribe and he needed to get to the bottom of it. So he set a trap with some goods that were left out, and he hoped that those would trap the thief. He only told two braves, and then those two braves waited. At dawn, they came to the chief's teepee. One brave entered, and said, "We have caught the thief." The chief said, "Good! We will sentence him to 20 lashes with the whip. Bring him in." 

To the shock and horror of the chief, when the braves brought in the thief, they brought in the chief's mother! Word spread very quickly through the tribe, because there was to be a punishment of 20 lashes with the whip. And the people began to say, "Well, now we'll find out which is greater, his justice or his love." 

At noon his mother was tied to a stake in the middle of the encampment, her garment was loosened to expose her back, and a warrior drew back his arm with the whip. And suddenly there was an order that cam e from the chief, "Stop!"

The people began to talk to each other and say, "Well, he's setting aside his justice for his love, isn't he? His love is greater than his justice." And that's when something happened that no one there would ever forget. The chief took off his robe, so that his back was exposed, placed his body between his mother and the whip and gave a two-word order, "The whip!" And that day, the punishment fell - 20 lashes, not on the one who deserved it, but on one who loved her enough to take the punishment that she deserved. That is what God's one and only Son did for you and for me.

"He carried our sins in His own body on the tree so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed."1 Peter 2:24

We've all broken God's laws; we've all broken God's heart by running the life He gave us to live for Him. There's a death penalty for that. I deserve the whip of God and so do you. But He said, "Take Me instead." When Jesus went to the cross, the punishment of God fell not on the one who deserved it (that's me), but on the one who loved you and loved me enough to take the punishment we deserved. God's love sent His one and only Son to die in your place.

John 3:16 says, "Whoever believes in Him will not die but will have everlasting life." Have you ever done that?  - in the sense of like grabbing Jesus consciously like a drowning person would grab a lifeguard. 

The Son of God has stood between you and the punishment of God. Now He stands in front of you with outstretched hands, nail-pierced hands. He's waiting for you to respond to His love. Please don't wait another day.