He entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:23-24 (NIV)
Our objective is to live in such a way that people who are deeply resistant to the good news of Jesus Christ will come to glorify God. This great objective will be achieved as we follow the example of Jesus who entrusted Himself into the hands of Him who judges justly and bore our sins in His body on the tree.
The world is convinced the only justice that will ever be done is what you can get here and now. If you are a Christian, however, you know that there is justice beyond this world. God has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness. For every evil that has ever been committed, justice will be done.
Jesus Himself trusted the world’s most terrible injustice and most awful abuse into the hands of God. Jesus could have called in the angels and exercised immediate judgment, but He did not do that. He used his freedom to make a different choice.
While Jesus entrusted Himself to God, our sins were laid on Jesus, and He bore them in His own body. When He was in a situation of appalling injustice, He did not ask “How can I get even?” Instead, He asked, “How can I act redemptively?”
Jesus’ mission was to bring hardened people, like you and I were, back to the Father, back to the Overseer of our souls. To bring that eternal, dramatic, life change, Jesus entrusted Himself to God who judges justly and bore our sins in His body to heal us by His own wounds. Jesus created room for reconciliation and made it possible for us to turn around.
Are your choices guided and directed by Jesus’ mission? Or some other mission? If so, what?
