WHAT DEFINES YOU?

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking for your own interests but each of you to interest of others. In your relationship with one another have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

                                                                          Philippians 2: 3-5

In Japan they have a saying “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.” Students are taught this in school. No student is allowed to be different. Students are discouraged from asking questions. Critical thinking skills are not taught. If one student fails an exam the whole class must repeat the exercise until everyone passes. In business the one in charge of a meeting must get consent of everyone before a decision is executed. It is not a matter of consensus but of unanimous consent. This conditions conformity. It is a culture where fitting in is expected and those who do not are ostracized or punished.

In the Muslim world the male husband/father is in total control. Women are taught from an early age to respect the authority of males, even their sons. It is a culture with male dominance and if women do not comply they can receive abuse or even brutal treatment.

In biblical times it was tribal. While each person had their Jewish identity, they knew which tribe they belonged to. They were expected to be loyal to their tribe. In the book of numbers the census was taken by tribe. At one point in history the nation split into two. The southern kingdom consisted of two tribes and the northern kingdom had the other ten. It was a culture where each person is identified by their tribe.

In the United States we have a culture of individualism. It is built into our Declaration of Independence “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. Individualism is built into our laws. Our schools are built around the individual. Each student is expected to perform based on their individual abilities. Each person is judged on his individual achievements. In sports the high scorer is given all the recognition even though his teammates and coach have contributed to his success. In business it is your title that counts. When you meet a person for the first time you frequently ask “what do you do for a living?” The answer tells how successful you are. It is a culture that identifies you as an individual and rewards you accordingly.

What identifies you as an individual? Is it your name, date of birth, and Social Security number, or is there more to it than that? Is it where you live, where you work and your position, being the husband/father or wife/mother of your family, where you go to school, or where you go to church? In the United States we have the freedom to be any kind of person we want to be or the kind of person God wants us to be. This is unique compared with the cultures of other countries where it’s legal and social restraints that limit personal choice. The Scriptures teach that you can have a relationship with God and be a representative of Christ regardless of your circumstances. The challenge for us is how do we use our freedom to carry out God’s will for our lives.

How do we use our individual basic freedoms for our life? Do we accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior and endeavor to experience God’s will for our life? Do we want a life of meaning and significance?  Do we want a life of caring for others needs? Or do we want to dither our life away with trivia? Do we choose a life where fame, money and self-indulgence are our objectives? The choice is ours.

THE REDEMPTION STORY

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”                       John 1:29

In the beginning God created the heavens, the earth, and all living things. Then he created man. Things were created to display God’s power and glory. Man was created for fellowship and to be loved by God and for man to love God in return.

God knew from the beginning that giving man the option of disobeying him that he would break the relationship. So God created a redemption plan that would rescue his relationship with man. It was a plan to recover the relationship by paying a specified cost to save mankind from its state of sinfulness and its consequences.

He set the price of redemption at the very highest level. It was a plan to send his son to earth as the Son of Man, as well as being the Son of God, to die with a broken body and the shedding of his blood.  The shedding of blood was the price to be paid for redemption.

The first incident in the Scriptures where a blood sacrifice was shown to be necessary came when Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God. Cain offered grain while Abel offered a blood sacrifice. Only Abel’s sacrifice was accepted.

The next incident in the Scriptures where a blood sacrifice was necessary was when God told Abraham to offer his only son Isaac. Just as Abraham was about to carry out God's instructions God spared Isaac by providing a lamb that was then substituted for the blood sacrifice of Isaac. This was prophetic because God would one day offer his only son.

Another incident that confirmed the necessity for the use of blood was when God instructed the Israelites to paint blood on their doorposts. By doing this they saved their firstborn child. This occurred when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to release the Israelites from slavery. God punished Pharaoh by sending 10 plagues. The last one was the killing of the first born in each family, if the family refused to paint blood on their doorposts.

Under the old covenant system each family would bring a lamb to the Temple to be offered on the altar as a blood sacrifice. The lamb had to be a male without blemish. This offering covered the family’s sin. It was representative of the final sacrifice which would be made by Jesus Christ, God’s Only and Perfect Son.

When Jesus completed his three-year ministry on earth he was crucified. A soldier pierced his side with a spear and the blood flowed. It was the final redemptive sacrifice to cover all of mankind’s sin, past present and future.

During the night when Christ was betrayed by Judas at the Passover supper, Jesus revealed to the disciples his impending death. He instructed them to remember him every time they ate bread and drink wine. The bread represented Christ’s broken body and the wine represented his shed blood. Every time we participate in Holy Communion we should think about God’s redemption plan and that he loved us enough to give His Only Son to redeem us from our sin. 

Being redeemed is a humbling but joyous event. It gives us peace by knowing that all our sins are covered and gone forever, if we accept Jesus as Savior. If you have not accepted God’s redemption plan, why not do it now.

 Every good story has a happy ending and the story of redemption is no exception…..and they all lived happily ever after.