A Brave New World

I've been thinking a lot about hell, forgiveness, fruit of the Spirit, and survival of the fittest. Sorry, these things come in a particular order in my brain. By the time I get to write them down, it's a bit jumbled.

Hanging on the cross, Jesus uttered some pretty famous words... Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing. Let me ask you something - was Jesus forgiving all of their sin or a specific one? Remember, His death had been part of God's redemptive plan from the get go. Sin usually involves us distorting God's plan for our own self. Yet these men were fulfilling that plan. Was Jesus forgiving them because their sin accomplished God's end?

I hope this isn't merely academic. Jesus has chosen to accept the consequences of my sin. Of the sins for everyone that God's chosen. But not anyone else. I find this helps me question the nature of forgiveness.

In other passages, Jesus stated that He trusted the One who judges righteously - aka God. I take this as implying that forgiveness does not acquit one from judgement. My forgiveness relates solely to my relationship with another person. If I trust God's judgement, then I don't need to execute my judgement, right? So, is it an integral part of forgiveness to ask God to also acquit them from judgement?

Ready Player One
Somehow, I always end up thinking about the movie Ready Player One. MMORPGs exemplify survival of the fittest. Might makes right. The one with the gold makes the rules. This is what Paul meant when he said that the law only brings death.

Darwin saw survival of the fittest because it's true. That's the law of the flesh. It's selfish and destructive. But like Qui-gon Jinn points out in The Phantom Menace, there is always someone bigger and stronger. People who live by survival of the fittest will find themselves facing the ultimate power - God. What will they say when they stand in front of the Creator of the universe - the One who set atoms and quarks in motion, who commands the path of a black hole, and understands every thought they've ever had.

What will their strength buy them? All of their excuses evaporate. All of the justifications disappear as the full weight of guilt and shame comes crashing down. Could you really stand the sudden realization of everyone that you hurt, ever in your life? How your pride hurt your own grand children and great grand children? Every atom out of place because you failed will fall on your shoulders. Imagine God sitting there, totally still as you spit out every excuse you can possibly think of. And all He has to say - "but I'm still sending You to Hell".

A Very Different Judgement
Jesus offers us a very different scenario. I still see the same things. And all of that same guilt, because let's face it, I'm not perfect (quite an understatement, isn't it?). And it all disappears. Because Jesus accepted my guilt. I don't need to feel it anymore. So instead of facing God's judgement, I face Jesus' judgement.

Jesus doesn't judge for punishment. His judgement is reward. Jesus isn't seeking retribution against my sin, He is looking to share the great love that God feels towards Him. He is defining my place in His world. Even now, the thought jumps into my head "yeah, but He'll just make me a janitor because of everything I've done". That's not true.

Might someone be a janitor? Sure. And they'll be the janitor who learns how to use insects for cleaning up messes. Or studies different chemical solutions for recycling waste. My point is, there are no low positions in His world. Jesus knows the One who sees where all of this is going. And He is positioning us, me, in a way that gets us there. God creates. God brings life. And everything He asks of me will always create more life. There is no low position. And a billion years from now, it won't be the same place where I started.

God is love. Love brings life, joy, peace, kindness, faithfulness, and patience. As God pours His love into Jesus, Jesus pours it into us, and we pour it into the world around us. Survival of the fittest goes away. Survival is granted by God, not us. And as every person, animal, and microscopic particle follows His command, He creates something beautiful.

This is what Jesus offers. This is the world that I want to see. This is hope.