Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Friday May 25, 2007

Often when writing on a subject we/I get caught up in the benefit of the subject, in the case this week, forgiveness, and overlook the heavier side of the topic at hand.

To be forgiven by God is an awesome subject, a subject that involves physical pain, emotional distress and spiritual acceptance to be fully appreciated and used for positive change and direction in life. The idea, "Oh, sure I'm forgiven, let's continue in our sin, because God will forgive" is foreign to true biblical forgiveness. This modern concept of forgiveness lacks the sorrow, the repentance for actions that need forgiveness.

As far as I can recall the first instance of forgiveness happened when God confronted Adam about the original sin and Adam attempted to place the blame on Eve. You recall that God was dissatisfied with the garments of leaves the couple had fashioned and when the proper conversation was over, the Lord God slew an innocent animal and used the skin for covering Adam and Eve. I have and do put my money on the belief the animal was a lamb fully meeting the later requirements of sacrificial lambs.

To be forgiven meant that something and later SOMEONE who did not need to be forgiven, had to die.

In accordance with the necessity of death being the price of forgiveness, it makes sense that the substitute be something that meant something to the person needing forgiveness, something considered as precious. Common sense tells us that God loves His entire creation and man being placed as caretaker of God's creation would have and should have a very high opinion of the animal creation, and most likely the sheep were high on the list on bonding. Thus the principle of personal sin not remaining personal but becoming the cause of pain to something precious, in this case death itself. Sensible people understand even today that we are not to be cruel to animals.

Most certainly Adam came to the understanding the sacrifice of innocent lambs foreshadowed the later coming of heavens dearest and best, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was to shed His precious blood because of and for our sins.

Over the long course of sin in the human race we have lost the biblical understanding and appreciation for animals. We also, demean the value of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross because human life has been lowered to be of little or no value. Unchecked abortion is the order of the day and thus human life, no longer considered precious, is a cause of the sacrifice of Christ being considered of little or no value.

Even professing Christians have no concept of the fact of the awful suffering of Christ in order for us to be forgiven. When we get a glimpse of the crucible of Calvary, sin and the need for forgiveness is no longer taken as a joking matter. That the whole of creation has and is suffering from the fall out of the fall is observable and documented. Romans 8:22

"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit.

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