Treason…
A distasteful word.
One we’d never want used about our behavior or actions.
When we think of our own lives, we think of ourselves as pretty good citizens… even patriots for our nation. But what if you have dual citizenship – what if you are not only a citizen of an earthly nation, but also of God’s Kingdom? Are you a good citizen in the eyes of the Sovereign King of that realm? How obedient are you to His commands?
We like to think that we are “pretty good” people, but the problem is disobedience to the King… which we term “sin.” And sin is a big deal. Here’s why: “Sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign. The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted. The Creator of the universe is infinitely worthy of respect and admiration and loyalty. Therefore, failure to love him is not trivial — it is treason.”
So because of our unwillingness to bring our lives under full control of the Sovereign King, we are people with treasonous actions and attitudes. Shouldn’t His amazing love for us be enough to drive out our sin? Shouldn’t His love compel us to love Him in return and keep us from being disobedient? Perhaps the problem is that we haven’t thought of our disobedience as being serious.
“We will never stand in awe of being loved by God until we reckon with the seriousness of our sin and the justice of his wrath against us.”
Until we can see our disobedience to both the “Thou Shalt Not” Commands AND the “Thou Shalt” Commands as serious acts of rebellion, we will never sense the full weight of His love in the face of our treason. He tells us not to do some things, but He also tells us plenty that we must do – specifically loving our neighbors as ourselves. Our failure to share His story with them and let them know how God wants to intersect and interrupt their lives with His love… that failure is treason against the King.
And yet He loves us still.
He loves us in the face of our treason.
“Today the word sin way too often misses this aspect of God’s heart regarding the Law. When His Word says, ‘Avoid all sin,’ we miss the ‘I love you, my child’ that lies behind it.”
Let us look at ourselves through the eyes of the King and see how far we miss the mark. When we do so and then realize that He loves us in spite of our own terrible thoughts, actions, and attitudes, we will start to see how deep His love goes… and then that love will begin to drive us into deeper obedience prompted by a desire to serve the One who loves us so well.
(quotes from ‘For Your Joy’ by John Piper; and ‘Every Man’s Challenge’ by Arterburn & Stoeker)