The Trial That Matters

Sorry for the delay. Turns out I never hit the publish button! For that, you will get two posts today!

A lot of people are up in arms about the Zimmerman trial in which George Zimmerman was found not guilty for the murder of Trayvon Martin. Protesters from both sides have rallied to voice their opinions based on the jury's verdict. As I've said before, this blog isn't to project my opinions to you, you probably don't care much for them, but it is to find the truths of Christ in current events and everyday life. That being said, with all the discussion about fair trials, the US legal system and justice, I want to talk about the only trial that matters.

First, let me say that I hope you don't jump to the conclusion that justice on earth is not important. God himself gave the Israelites laws to live by and standards with which to conduct their affairs. Check out Leviticus. If you can plow through the measurements of tents made from the hides of sea cows and how many doves you need to sacrifice per crime you commit, you can see just how much God cares about justice. God is not a God of chaos. Look at the earth and how orderly it is: nature contains seasons and patterns of weather. He is creative and amazing, but also quite orderly. Therefore, he gave us laws to live by to maintain that order here on earth, thus the first five books of the Old Testament called the Torah, or Law.

When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, up on Mount Sinai he entered into a covenant with Moses. There, God fulfilled the promise he had made to Moses before the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt: the promise that "I will take you as my own people and I will be your God" (Exodus 6:7). So after Moses led the people out, God and the Israelites entered into a covenant. The closest thing we know of covenants today are marriages. You don't marry someone without making sacrifices and following a few rules (or you shouldn't). When I got married, I made vows or promises to my husband, thus I entered into a covenant with him. So when you read the Ten Commandments (and all laws in the Old Testament are based on those), don't think of them as rules to keep, but as marriage vows to uphold.

The trick with the covenant the Israelites made with God is that it is impossible to uphold all of them at all times. There are 613 laws in the OT and if you want an interesting read, check out A.J. Jacobs' book The Year of Living Biblically. In this book Jacobs (a Jewish agnostic) tries to follow all 613 laws of the OT for an entire year. He struggled just as the Israelites did. And in OT time, the only way for a covenant that was broken to be renewed was by the spilling of blood, or sacrifice. So God gave laws for animal sacrifice so that his people might constantly renew their covenant with him when they fail. Then came Jesus.

Jesus was the final sacrifice. He allowed for his blood to be shed to cover all of our shortcomings. His sacrifice rendered animal sacrifices and burnt offerings unnecessary because his body became the ultimate sacrifice. This sacrifice is offered freely to all who fall short of the laws of the Old Testament and to any who have ever sinned. If you don't think you fall into that category, you are either lying or full of pride, both being sins, sorry (insert snarky grin here). We all fall short. But all we need is to accept his sacrifice and ask him to guide our life. Once we do that, we strive with all that is within us to live for him and follow his teachings, but when we fail like the Israelites did, we rely on the sacrifice of Jesus rather than goats. And because of this sacrifice, we are made clean. We are able to enter into perfect community with God because blood has been shed and the covenant has been upheld. Without it, our sins remain unatoned and we are forced to face the consequences of our actions. 

That is where the only trial that matters comes into play. When we die or when Christ returns, we will stand before God as the ultimate judge. He is a bit more intense than any jury in our legal system because he knows our hearts completely. Paul reminds the Corinthians of this when he says, "It is the Lord who judges me... He will bring to light what is hidden in the darkness and will expose the motives of the heart" (1 Corinthians 4:4-5). In Hebrews we are reminded again that "nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (4:13). 

You see, whether or not we answer on earth for our thoughts and actions, we will answer in heaven and we will fall short. Can you imagine if the people you loved the most knew every thought of yours no matter how selfish or wrong it was? Would they still talk to you? God sees all that. But the beauty of it all is that, knowing us as he does, he still loved us enough to his Son to sacrifice his life. He still sent Jesus so that when we stand before God to be judged and to give account of our life, we have one that stands in our place. We have a God who allowed his Son to take the punishment that was justifiably meant for us. We have a God who saw our broken end of the covenant, and offered us an eternal sacrifice. All we need do is accept it. It is both the easiest and hardest choice you will ever make, but I guarantee you, it is also the most important. 

So renew the covenant with God that you were meant to uphold. Seek the ultimate sacrifice and thank God for his grace in sending his son that we might remain in covenant with him. He is a just and orderly God that demands perfection to enter into community with him in heaven. We cannot achieve that, but praise God that his Son did. Jesus lived his life without sin, in perfect covenant, and then took the punishment we deserved so that we might live in have that true communion with God. That right there is the only trial that matters and the only verdict worth preparing for.