The Whipping Boy

Way back in the 16th and 17th century it was decided that a king's son, the heir apparent was far too regal to be punished by other the King himself.

The King was looked upon as being ordained to Kingship by God Himself and as such any offspring of this, pretty much deity, should not and could not be disciplined by a lowly commoner.

So with the King away so often on duties that would take him away from the palace, the only option for 'royal discipline' for his offspring was to 'take it out' on a lowly "whipping boy".

This lad would often be brought up with the heir and as such became a playmate and eventually a friend of the Prince.

When the royal child did find themselves on the wrong side of the palace officials and needed correction, usually in the form of a thorough beating, it was the whipping boy who took the punishment on behalf of the royal.

Bit bizarre you may question? I know I did! what an unfair system of so-called justice. And yet in some respects I guess it worked well. The boys would grow up as friends and become quite close. The Prince when doing wrong would see his friend take a beating on his behalf. that alone may have a lasting effect on the royal and maybe just maybe it would deter him from making the same mistake again.

There are lots to argue from either side but when it comes to the crunch it still seems grossly unfair.

Figuratively and literally speaking Jesus did that very thing for us - He in every way became our 'whipping boy' in every sense. He not only took our whipping but in fact laid down His life for us.

Why did Jesus have to do this?

Well,  some believe that Jesus didn't die to pay the penalty for sins, that God didn't need to have Jesus killed. They believe that Jesus was showing the crowds way back then and indeed us today just how far true love would go. That even the threat of death from would not and could not subdue His love.

That sounds amazing and yes, I truly believe that Jesus' love for us drove Him on to His ultimate sacrifice. Jesus' very last commandment was in fact for us to love as He loved.
John 13: 34-35 "A new commandment I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Certainly love is the key but the fact remains that we have ALL sinned everyone of us!  Romans 3: 23 "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

We have all fallen short, none of us have attained the perfection God has demanded. Only Jesus stands as the sinless one - the ONLY one who never sinned - was tempted in every way as we are BUT never sinned.

If Jesus didn't die for our sins NOT one of us would come near to even 'think' that God would accept us into His kingdom.

1 John 2: 2 says "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (NIV)

I love the way "The Message" puts this verse "Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, He solved the sin problem for good. - not only ours but the whole world's."

Jesus is our sin bearer - I truly believe that Jesus did so much more than showing us an example of how to love and live. That, as far as I am concerned is a 'given' - He certainly DID do that, but He also did far far more.

Jesus took up the sins of the world when He picked up that cross. He not only carried that huge tree but also your sins and mine. The ones in the past, the present and future, all there on His broken body, dragged up that hill and nailed alongside of Him on that cross.

So where does that leave us? Just with a beautiful example of what true love looks like? Sure that is a major part of it, but ever so much more.

Jesus did for us what no one could ever have done. He opened the gates of eternity to sinful people to you and me so that all we need to do is come to the cross, accept what He did, ask forgiveness from our God and by faith, trusting in Him, hand our lives and our future to His care.

Have you done that? Have you confessed your sin? Have you asked Christ to come and take over your life? Have you handed over one hundred percent, holding nothing back?

His grace took Him to Calvary,
His love showed Him the way,
That's why I want to live for Him
and praise Him every day.

And when I think of Calvary
And what He did for me
How the father's wrath was paid
By His death upon the tree.
My heart cries out with gratutude
That He the Lord most high
Should deign to take my sins upon Himself and bleed and die

He rose again victoriously
and one amazing day
He'll come and claim the faithful
Who have followed in His way
And all of those who love Him
Will meet Him face to face
To worship at His might throne
His glory and His grace

And when he comes in wonder
His beauty to display
And the sky rolls to herald
His bright and glorious day
the trumpet of the Lord shall sound
and every knee will fall
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

copyright Bruce Mewett

When you feel like running away

Ever felt like it? Running away that is? I know I have.

Even the very thought of just turning around, slamming the door and taking off into the blue horizon fills you with sense of the warm and fuzzies.

Maybe the job has got you to point of no return, or maybe no job at all and the prospect of yet another day of the 'endless search' is driving you to point of distraction.

Maybe living with a hormonal teenager is tipping you over the edge, or your finances in this latest global financial disaster has taken it's toll and you want to throw in the towel and give life as you know it all away.

Whatever has rocked your boat to the very edge of your personal shipwreck, please take heart, so many have been there before you.

The desire to 'run away' form it all and leave those difficult and sometimes unimaginable horrors of life and just slip over the fence to 'greener pastures' is not new or unique. It's far too common in fact.

Maybe you have been going through a pretty tough time of it though loss or betrayal? Harsh words and bullying through social media is rife these days and dialogue is so freely available and often just so easy when not face to face.

When we have been severely hurt and offended, the words and actions are so often hard even impossible to erase from our memories. Maybe you are recovering from or have been threatened by violence or violence through the exchange of harsh and disparaging words. Sometimes even at the hands of family.

Maybe all you can think of doing is running away - or maybe you have even now already run away,

On writing this I have no idea what your burden could be but I know the feeling of just longing to jump in the car and take off and drive some place - any place really as long as it's away and you can take a break from the heaviness of your heart and the huge weight of that dark cloud on your shoulders.

All of us are on our own journey and many of us are carrying heavy loads of doubt, worry, guilt and all sorts of burdens that very few of our friends even know about.

Honesty with ourselves and with God, in my opinion, is the very first step towards healing. Coming to the point where you can actually lay your burden, whatever it is, at the feet of Jesus. Psalm 55:22 says "cast your burden on the Lord, and he will shall sustain you."

So what does that actually mean "Sustain you"? - The last thing I want to do is quote platitudes that 'make you feel good' like a bumper sticker, but God is God who answers our prayers surprisingly not in the way we often expect.

God will see us through these hard times - He will indeed. The situation in which you have found yourself may not in fact simply disappear once prayed over BUT God will definitely see us through them.

My mind goes to that dark night when Jesus prayed in that garden. he prayed that the looming crucifixion would complete God's plan and bring it to a final conclusion.

Jesus certainly wasn't hankering to go through this horrendous pain but He certainly wasn't going to shy away from it.

Jesus prayed that all would be done according to the will of God - Such a great example of how we should be praying when we are faced with tumultuous times when we feel like giving it all up and just running away.

Jesus didn't run away - he was prepared to do what needed to be done and pray according to the will of the Father. That is exactly what we should be doing, praying and living according to the will of our Father.

When we start living like this our lives, in a very real way, cease to be ours and start to be Gods. He starts living His life though us and guiding us though the dark times, through the doubts, through the despair.

So instead of running away from our burdens and trials, which ultimately won't work anyway, pick up your burden and ask God to start living His life though you. Ask Him to carry your load for you. Put it squarely on His shoulders - He will definitely see you through this dark time.

May our stressful times be a beacon to the world that God's grace is alive in us and that through our trials his name will be glorified.