“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
In April 1992 California was preparing for its first execution in 25 years. Robert Alton Harris was on death row for the murder of two teenage boys from San Diego. His execution was scheduled for April 21st. As the date approached and it became increasingly apparent that he would indeed be executed, protestors came forward. They claimed for one reason or another that, no matter how great the crime that had been committed, killing another human being was not the answer. I also felt some sympathy for Robert Harris. I could not explain why I felt that way; he was certainly deserving of death for the crimes he committed. Each time I saw the parents of the victims speak out I was struck with the immense grief that they must have felt, but as the execution approached I still felt uneasy with the idea of capital punishment.
For weeks I considered my own feelings toward this case and paid close attention to the protestors. Then one day it occurred to me that out of all the many protestors, not one of them offered to take the place of the man on death row. Out of all the people who believed that this man should not be killed, why was there not one who would be willing to die in place of the convicted killer so that he would be able to live? I quickly answered my own question. Of course nobody made that offer, the man was guilty! Why would anyone give up their own life in order to save a criminal from his punishment of death? There is no real compelling reason to do that. Yet isn’t that what Jesus did for us?
In our system of justice not many of us have reached the same level of guilt that this man had, but in God’s system of justice all of our sins are so great, and create such an enormous separation between us and God, that it becomes useless to compare one person’s sins against another. Paul writes that at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for us. He also writes that God demonstrated his love for us in this: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It is one thing to protest against the death penalty. It is an entirely different thing to die in place of a guilty man condemned to death, yet that is exactly what Jesus did for each of us. What a gracious and merciful God we serve!
In February we were able to pay all of our missionaries 100 percent of their target allowance. We used $39,533 from the General Fund to meet these needs, leaving a General Fund balance of $133,329 at the end of February. Our Benefits Fund carried a balance of $106,541.
Thank you for your ongoing support!