For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
Rosie Cotton, Andrew's kitty, has been sick. She started sneezing on Friday morning, after being uncharacteristically lazy on Thursday. By church on Sunday morning, I was honestly surprised that she was still alive -- sick eyes, lots of sneezing, barely moving, not having eaten nor drunk for over 48 hours. One sad sad kitty. (By the way, after forcing some water into her, and sneaking some lysine into her, and giving her some time, she began slowly to improve on Tuesday. Today she is beginning to be herself again. Whew!)
Remember in grade school, when the class was being naughty? If you were a disgusting goody-two-shoes like I was, it made you mad when the teacher canceled recess or some other fun activity as a punishment for the whole class. "I wasn't throwing erasers. I wasn't being noisy. I wasn't copying off the neighbor's paper. I am a good
Of course, Jesus was punished for transgressions committed by somebodies else. But we dismiss that altogether too easily. Ah, He's God. Ah, He wanted to. Ah, we take the atonement and the blessed exchange for granted.
But the rocks. The clouds. The rabbit that was nabbed by coyotes in the backyard last Wednesday night. The irises and daisies and the cherry tree. And poor little Rosie. They have been subjected to futility. They suffer with a world gone wrong. There are earthquakes and tornadoes. There is illness. There is death, some of it predatory and painful. It wasn't their fault. It was mine. And yours. The kitten did not sin. The sky did not sin. The dirt did not sin. But it suffers. And it waits for the Last Day when all things will be made new.
That is not fair.
Still, the rocks and the kitties and the snails and the moss take it. They wait. They suffer. Why? For our sake. God cursed the creation so that man would realize his need for a Savior. God cursed the creation so that we would know that things are not right. God cursed the creation to bring us to repentance.
So when I am tempted to say, "But I didn't vote for Clinton or Perot," or when I am tempted to say that I didn't want a particular synodical bureaucrat to win an election, or when I am tempted to say that I don't want to be bound by laws that restrict my freedoms that I can handle responsibly (but my neighbors have shown that maybe they cannot),
in other words, when I am thinking, "I don't deserve this punishment; it's meant for them"
maybe I need to be reminded of the rocks and Rosie and their sufferings for my sake. It wasn't fair that the Christians in 586 BC had to endure the siege of Jerusalem and suffer through the Babylonian exile; after all, it was the Baal worshipers that brought God's wrath on the nation. And it isn't fair that responsible American citizens must put up with government that is seen by some as a punishment, a
But so what if it's not fair?
The wildflowers suffer for my sake. Rosie suffers for my sake. The oceans and mountains suffer for my sake. They are placed in a fallen world though they did nothing to deserve it.
(Assuming we can claim innocence.... quite the assumption!) can we do the same for our fellow citizens, or our fellow brothers in this synod, or our fellow family-members? Love for the neighbor and a longing for his heart to be turned in repentance to faith in the true God -- that kind of love makes it easy to bear the unfairness. (God give us that kind of love, because we sure ain't got it, in and of ourselves!)
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