Reconciliation

For those of you who grew up Baptist, this atonement theory might sound very familiar. Might. You see, many are taught a little drawing that can be used to evangelize to others.

You start with God:

Then here comes you, the mere mortal, the human:

Then, your sin separates you from God, like a giant uncrossable chasm:

But! There is good news. Jesus wipes out your sin and bridges that gap between you and God. All’s well that ends well:

So… not to disparage the evangelism efforts of teenagers who so excitedly shared this with me, their at the time fellow teen, but now I look at this and see some theological implications that make this atonement theory one of the least popular, especially in the Methodist church, but in it’s strictest understanding and reading, still allowed under UMC theology and doctrine.

And this is one of those technicality things. Sin does not separate us from God. Scripture tells us without question that there is nothing on heaven or earth that can separate us from the love of God. But sin, as a natural consequence, tends to make us feel apart from God. How many of us can picture a puppy who has destroyed, well, anything looking with innocence into the eyes of their owner? Yeah, me either. Dogs know when they’ve done wrong and would rather look anywhere but at you when they know they’ve been naughty. Sin in humans works much the same. It’s hard to own up and face the truth and worse, tell God, about the sins we’ve committed, are committing, are going to commit because we know that sin is never what God intends for us. Paul says it best- we do not need to sin so that grace may be abundant.

And that’s not even looking at how damaging sin can be to relationships. What happens when you lie to your family? (I’m not going to count the lies told to toddlers like I have the Blue Power Ranger on the phone and he’s very disappointed you hit little Timmy at recess today or McDonald’s is closed today, we can’t go get a happy meal.) What happens when you are envious of someone else who has achieved what you haven’t or is blessed with a material thing you’ve not yet managed to acquire? Sin is very damaging.

But, in healing, God removes the sin that wedges its way in between us and true joy. Christ bridged that gap to allow us to live freely and fully in complete and whole relationship with God and each other. It was an incredible gift.

With great thanks once again to Magrey R. DeVega…

Definition of Sin: Sin separates us from God and each other. It tears at the fabric of our relationships and renders us isolated and divided.

Definition of Salvation: Jesus bridges that gap and enables us to live in a full and free relationship with God and other people. The cross tears down the walls and brings us together to be healed, as well as to be healing agents for others.