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- Apr 25, 2006
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Can't we love each other?
'God put his love on the line...while we were of no use whatever to him.' ROMANS 5:8
We all know that war is a nasty business, and becoming a prisoner of war can be a death sentence. During the Second World War Ernest Gordon was captured by the Japanese army who forced their prisoners to work for them like slaves.
One evening a guard noticed a shovel was missing. Insisting a prisoner had stolen it, he screamed for the guilty party to step forward. Then he prepared to kill them one by one until someone confessed. Suddenly a Scottish soldier spoke out and said, 'I did it.' The guard beat him to death on the spot. A few minutes later the shovels were re-counted. The guard was wrong. None was missing!
What kind of person would take the blame for something he didn't do? 'This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16 NIV).
At the cross Jesus stepped out and offered himself as the punishment for our sins. Unlike the Scottish soldier in the story who was innocent, humankind was very definitely guilty. Unlike the Japanese Guard, God had a right to demand the ultimate penalty. So, having lived the life we couldn't live, Jesus took the punishment we couldn't escape. Now the question is: if He so loved us, can't we love each other?
written by Bob Gass
'God put his love on the line...while we were of no use whatever to him.' ROMANS 5:8
We all know that war is a nasty business, and becoming a prisoner of war can be a death sentence. During the Second World War Ernest Gordon was captured by the Japanese army who forced their prisoners to work for them like slaves.
One evening a guard noticed a shovel was missing. Insisting a prisoner had stolen it, he screamed for the guilty party to step forward. Then he prepared to kill them one by one until someone confessed. Suddenly a Scottish soldier spoke out and said, 'I did it.' The guard beat him to death on the spot. A few minutes later the shovels were re-counted. The guard was wrong. None was missing!
What kind of person would take the blame for something he didn't do? 'This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16 NIV).
At the cross Jesus stepped out and offered himself as the punishment for our sins. Unlike the Scottish soldier in the story who was innocent, humankind was very definitely guilty. Unlike the Japanese Guard, God had a right to demand the ultimate penalty. So, having lived the life we couldn't live, Jesus took the punishment we couldn't escape. Now the question is: if He so loved us, can't we love each other?
written by Bob Gass
