Good Friday 2000 Years Later

David’s poetry in the Psalms pokes at sin and guilt with all the gentleness of sledgehammer.

Take this one, for example:

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

The next time you hear a news report concerning the “genetic basis” for why people struggle, remember these lines. Sin goes much deeper than just physical causes. Sin is a predisposition.

But there’s more. People who live a life opposed to what God had in mind really do have an ingrained struggle that runs much deeper than choice. It’s the orientation of a sinful heart.

We can’t single out certain people as if they alone are somehow choosing sin. We all choose sin. From birth. (I have kids—I know.)

The power of Christ’s resurrection and the Holy Spirit’s re-heart-ment are, then, that much more amazing. We run to sin; God completely changes the landscape. Suddenly, we’re running to Him. He completely transforms the bent of a wayward soul.

As Easter approaches, remember that Good Friday did this—reoriented the entire universe. Where once the faithful only looked forward to Hope, we look back at a finished masterpiece.