By Debra Franklin-Rothrock
Jeremiah 4:19-6:15 / Colossians 1:18-2:7 / Psalm 77:1-20 / Proverbs 24:23-25
The definition of juxtaposition, according to Merriam Webster is, “The act of an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast…” And juxtapositionis the word that came to me after reading today’s passages of scripture.
In Jeremiah four through six we have a picture of God when He is super angry with His people and warning them of the upcoming Assyrians invasion. To say He is super angry is an understatement. He says in verse nineteen of Jeremiah chapter four: “Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. “Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent.”
Next, in the Psalms, we hear King David and we picture someone on the receiving end of God’s anger. In Psalms 77:7 David asks, “Will the LORD reject forever? Will He never show His favor again? Has His unfailing love vanished forever? Has His promise failed for all time?” You can hear the desperation in the king’s voice as he speaks out his pain.
In these illustrations we have multiple positions standing in juxtaposition:
- God’s pain versus Human pain.
- God’s compassion, mercy, and long-suffering as opposed to God’s justice, righteousness, and virtue.
- God’s people in constant rebellion in contrast to God’s faithfulness and long-suffering.
David gives us a hint into a rudimentary reconciliation process. In Psalms 77:11 he says, “I will consider all of your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Well, David, that is a good start. It is always good to go back and recount to yourself the wonders God has done in your life…but what is the root resolution to this impasse? What is needed to get to the core of the issue?
Since Adam and Eve, we have been straying from God’s good and perfect will. We know what He says is true and just. We know God is loving and powerful. But we have a fallen nature that perpetuates the vicious cycle between repentance and offense.
Paul sums it up this way: “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”[1]
Thank you, Jesus! Thank God! Our creator knew before the foundations of the world that we would consistently turn our backs on Him, but He loved us and devised a plan, a reconciliation process, that answered the dilemma created by our sinful nature. He Himself, became a man, that there might be a man who was absolutely and completely sinless. Therefore, he qualified to pay the debt for all of mankind’s transgressions. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins.[2]
Today’s reading from Colossians clearly recaps God’s plan of reconciliation: “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation”[3]
So, there you have it. Grace; the free gift of eternal life. Jesus, as God in the flesh, died on the cross, paid a price I was not qualified to pay, and in so doing allowed me eternal access to an unconditionally loving relationship with him. What an amazing God we serve!
[1] Romans 7:21-25, New International Version, (NIV)
[2] 1 John 2:2, Paraphrased
[3] Colossians 1:21-22, New International Version (NIC)
