THE SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS
...that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16b
Jesus could have come to earth as a judge, but instead, He came as a Savior. Did we deserve to be judged? Oh yes, but we got a mercy instead.
I recall well how the footsteps of a judge sounded. I was in grade school. I had taken some forbidden Easter candy out of our kitchen cabinet, snuck it out of the house, and offered to share it with my best friend, Julie. We sat outside by our favorite tree and filled up on chocolate. Later that night, I recall my father coming to foot of the stairs and asking, "Christine, did you eat any of the Easter candy?" I lied and denied knowing anything about it. Suffice it to say that my sins caught up with me. When my father discovered the truth, I recall his footsteps coming up the stairs. I was disciplined. He came up to my room as my judge. There was dread in my gut as he approached my door. I can feel it to this day as I remember the incident.
For thousands of years since the fall of Adam, God watched his creation fall into sin. Most of it was gross sin; the worship of idols, the sacrifice of babies, and sexual perversion of all kinds, just to name a few. If He were like us, He would have said, "I'm going down there to put a stop to this. They're going to know they can't get away with sinning like this." We would have heard Him coming in the footsteps of Jesus and trembled. Time would have been up. Discipline sure and severe. That is what we deserved but not what we received.
A Savior came. Words of love were on his tongue. Deeds of deliverance and healing in his hands. Instead of taking us to our own cross to discipline our deeds, He walked to Calvary Himself, willingly. He took our punishment, offered to forgive us of everything we've ever done if we come to Him with remorse. He's never been sorry for being so extravagant. The offer stands, even today, about all my sins of yesterday. Jesus' compassionate message for all who come to Him is, "Stop sinning! Follow me." Today is a clean slate. My robes are white because He sacrificed His own life. I choose His ways, I choose obedience, I choose to follow my Savior, not my accuser from the kingdom of darkness.
Your footsteps are still felt. You walk softly in my world and woo me to surrender to Your holiness. Amen
