They are classic story lines seen all over television sitcoms. A younger sibling "borrows" her elders favorite white sweater without asking and inevitably returns with an unmistakable stain. A new teenage driver takes mom's car for a spin around the block while his parents are out and comes back with a scratch, a dent, or a smash - if he comes back with a car at all.
These stories often play out the same plotlines: The guilty party tries to hide what has been done, what has been dones eventually is uncovered, anger arises, and the guilty party is punished. Never do we see the sibling say, "Oh, yeah, that was mine. I paid a lot for it, but, hey, it's okay, here, I have another one." Never do the parents come home and say, "That's okay, son. Tell ya what, let's go to the dealer in the morning and buy you a new one!" Why, such reactions would be absurd! No, we need justice! We need discipline!
How many times as the bodies of Christ do we come back home with a stain on the white garment of His? How many joy rides have we taken to return scratched, dented, or near-demolished? We may try to hide it, but just like that sister and parent, He knows our stains and our scratches, our dents and dings - they are all uncovered. We utter "I'm sorry" as we brace ourselves for the coming anger, at times cowering in guilt and shame. Yet, the anger doesn't come. No "How could you?" or "I can't believe you!" No "You're going to pay for this!" or "You're grounded for a month!" Instead, when the repentant heart comes home, Jesus says, "I forgive you sister. Here is a new white robe." When the humbled soul returns, the Father's compassions are new in the morning - a fresh set of keys to a new and improved model, better than the last.
Being so accustomed to the familiar plotlines, we don't know how to react - this doesn't fit with the justice and discipline our human nature understands. We don't know how to accept it. So, instead, we continue to wear our stained robes for awhile, hanging our heads in public and sulking. We drive around with a cracked windshield, dent in the door, and a missing side mirror. "Everyone knows I'm a mess. Everyone knows I have crashed..." We ground ourselves for a period of time to try to make up for our mistakes. This is what makes sense to us.
Friends, it's time to break away from the sitcom storyline and embrace reality TV! This is True Life. The Lord forgives us our stains and our dents and our outright crashes. He doesn't forgive so that we can continue punishing ourselves. Listen to The Voice of your Big Brother. No! You aren't the Biggest Loser. Put on that new white robe, grab those keys, put the car in drive again, and continue on in His Amazing gRace!
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