A Courtroom

I want to share something with you that Christopher Hopper said at a Fearless gathering this past week  He was giving his sermon on identity and what it means to be a follower of Jesus and at the end, gave us this scene.

Imagine you are in a courtroom and you are on trial for ________.  Maybe it's adultery, maybe it's lying, cheating, anger, lust...you put in your own word(s).  And the jury right now is deciding whether or not you are guilty of this crime.  There is no more chance of defense for you. It's obvious it's you- your DNA is all over the crime scene.

It's time. The Jury is filing back into the courtroom with that little piece of paper saying your verdict.  You hear "For the count of  ________ this jury finds you guilty. 

You know it's over. You're going to die for this. You are about to be Capitally Punished for this. You hear the Judge say "Bailiff, take them away" and you know it's over.  As the handcuffs are being put on your wrists, someone raises their hand and asks permission to approach the bench.  The Judge grants them permission and you watch the Judge and this stranger talk.  You see the Judges head snap up at one point and at last you hear "Bailiff, take this man here in front of me away instead. He has offered to take the place of the accused."  After the man is led out of the courtroom, you hear everyone whispering "Do you know who that was?!"  Interested, you strain to hear the answer.  "It was the Judge's son."

This scene changed my life.  In my mind, I saw myself sitting there for anger and bitterness toward one of my parents.  I had allowed it to fester and grow and get infected and in the end, the only thing this anger and bitterness did was to hurt every other relationship I had.  I don't know about you, but for me, living life like that SUCKS. 

I want to challenge you. Imagine it's you in that courtroom being accused of a crime you know you committed and you know you're about to die for.  What is that crime? Is it worth dying for? If not, I challenge you to let the Son's death be something big in your life.  Follow him and don't let His death on the cross be for nothing.