"Get Off the Road!"

Have you ever been caught in traffic? Have you ever been driving along, minding your own business, and gotten cut off by some maniac? What was your response in either of these situations? I'm sure you were just simply grateful that you weren't hurt and prayed for the individual that was driving so recklessly. Or maybe you sat on the interstate thankful that you weren't the one that was in the wreck causing this pile up. One of my favorite road rage phrases often uttered by a family member of mine is, "It's the long skinny one on the right!" To be perfectly honest, road rage is a common problem in our day and age. I would dare say most people do not empathize with anyone else on the road unless we happen upon a bad wreck. Something about being behind the wheel of car distances us from other people. Maybe it's because we only see that big SUV, or that speedy convertible. Maybe the insulation from the noise and the feel of the outside world erases everything from our perception but our own timetables. Whatever the reason it seems that the prevailing attitude on the road is, "No one is more important than me." 

To be perfectly honest, we all have this attitude at some point in our lives. Parents are tired of griping children. Teenagers are frustrated because parents just don’t understand. Spouses fight because the other did something that affects what they wanted to do. And these are the people we love, let's not talk about co-workers and acquaintances. Because of our own innate selfishness, it's easy to understand why people have a hard time truly believing in a God that cares about them and wants to give them something good regardless of how bad they are. We don't operate this way, how could God? But this is what God reveals Himself to be. Let's look at Exodus 34:6-7 again,

"And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.'"

 God begins His description with the words compassionate and gracious. Before we go any further let's define these two words. The word compassionate can also be translated as merciful. If someone is merciful or compassionate, they see someone hurting or about to be hurt and they want to relieve or prevent the pain. The Hebrew word here is one that describes the bowels. This was their "heart", or the seat of emotion. To be merciful or compassionate means that your "heart" is moved for something. Gracious is translated elsewhere as "to favor". If someone is gracious, they show kindness to someone regardless of how valuable they are and in spite of what they deserve. Being gracious is giving a gift that is not based on merit. God is telling Moses that He is a God who not only sees the problems we face, but He is a God who wants to help us through them. On top of that, He wants to give the best He has to us regardless of whether we deserve it. This is what God showed to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He saw that we had turned away from Him and gone our own direction. He knew we couldn't fix it ourselves, so out of his mercy and graciousness he sent His Son Jesus. By dying, Christ shielded us from the eternal consequences of our sin and graciously provided access to Heaven. this gift is freely offered to anyone that wishes it. God does not withhold it from anyone, no matter who they are or what they've done.

In Acts chapters 8 and 9 we come across a man named Saul. This is what Luke writes about Saul in Acts 8:3, 

"But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison."

Luke inserts a brief interlude then picks back up with Saul in Acts 9:1-2,

"Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem."

Here we have a man who is rounding up anyone who follows the teachings of Jesus and throwing them in jail.  Now this is not the nice little cells we have today with all the humanitarian laws in place to make sure the prisoner's rights aren't violated. I imagine these cells are more along the lines of what we imagine our captured soldiers enduring overseas.  No law to protect you, just the whim of whoever controls your life. Most of us would agree that people who persecute Christians would deserve to be punished by God. We would probably pray to that end thinking that this is what God would want. Let's look at God's/Jesus' response in Acts 9:3-9

"As he (Saul) neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' 

'Who are you, Lord?' Saul asked.

'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 'Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.' 

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything."

OK, now we're getting to it! Jesus is about to seriously punish this guy who has been hunting down his followers. Let's keep reading; Acts 9:10-16

"In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, 'Ananias!'

'Yes, Lord,' he answered.

The Lord told him, 'Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.' 

'Lord,' Ananias answered, 'I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name'

But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.'" 

I think Ananias' response is what yours or mine would have been..."What?!? Don't you know who this is? He'll throw me in jail as soon as he can see straight enough!" Thankfully God's heart and mind are different than ours. God tells Ananias that He has chosen Saul to preach in his Name. Not only is he going to offer Saul the same opportunity for salvation he offers us, He also is going to use Him on a global scale! Sure, God says that Saul is going to suffer for the Name of God, but that's something we all have to face as Christians. God was true to His word here. You can read the rest of the book of Acts and see some of what Paul accomplished in God's Name. On top of that, thirteen of the books of the New Testament were written by Saul who became known as Paul. Now I'm sure there are some of you who are once again crying "Foul!". It would be easy to look at the life of Saul/Paul and say that the only reason God granted him salvation is because He knew what Paul would achieve. Paul "earned" his salvation because God could see the future. If this is what you are inclined to believe, I invite you to look at one more passage with me before you continue browsing the Internet. Luke 23:32-43 reads,

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals — one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."  And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."  

What future did this criminal hanging on the cross have? He was obviously a criminal of such depravity that he knew he deserved to die an agonizing death. Why would Jesus offer this man forgiveness for everything he had done and grant him access to Heaven? The answer is simple...John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

It doesn't matter what you have or haven't done, God loves you and wants you with Him. He freely offers you the opportunity to be with Him. The old hymn goes...

"Jesus is tenderly calling thee home
Calling today, calling today
Why from the sunshine of love wilt thou roam
Farther and farther away?"

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Call this a footnote if you want, but I wanted to take a moment and speak to something that has greatly troubled me this week as I was looking over this scripture. Last week there was an article online about a possible artifact from New Testament times. At the end of the article the option was given for readers to comment. As would be expected, anything to do with the Bible, and specifically Jesus, is divisive. Atheists were voicing their views and people from non-Christian religions gave theirs. This is to be expected. Jesus himself said that not everyone would follow Him. What has troubled me was the flippant response from the "Christians". Their words were almost haughty and belligerent..."It's your choice; Smoking or Non Smoking."

There's a quote attributed to Gandhi, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Remember Leviticus 11:44,

"I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy."

We are called to follow Christ and be more like Him. We are called to be His ambassadors in His stead. 2 Corinthians 5:20 reads,

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."

What kind of ambassador are you?

All scripture was taken from the New International Version