The Slice and the Sacrifice
“Adam’s one sin brought the penalty of death to many, while Christ
freely takes away many sins and gives glorious life instead.” Romans 5:16
Have you ever had one
of those days? Mathieu Boya did. Everything was going pretty smoothly as this
“wanna-be” Tiger Woods was simply hitting chip shots and drives out near his
home. As an aspiring young golfer, young Mathieu was honing his skills out in
a pasture next to Africa’s Benin
Air Base when his whole life would change.
With one swing of the golf club, Boya set off an unbelievable chain of
events. The shot, described as “a
glorious slice,” hit a bird, which in turn dropped onto the windshield of a
trainer jet whose pilot was taxiing into position for takeoff. The pilot lost control of his plane and
plowed into four shiny Mirage jets, totally demolishing the entire Air Force of
Benin.
Boya was jailed
immediately for “hooliganism,” and his attorney said he had no chance of
winning a trial. The country wanted
Boya to pay $40 million to replace the jets.
Since Boya made only $275 every
YEAR, he figured it would take 145,000 years to pay off his debt to society.
Talk about a “birdie,” I’ll bet they were talking about that
shot in the clubhouse for days to follow.
For the compassionate among us, you can’t help but feel for
Mathieu. For those that see the
humor in life, you can hardly escape the story without a chuckle if not an all
out laugh that comes from life’s painful moments.
It’s hard to believe that something so small could create
something so big or that the “domino effect” of one act could bring such
magnanimous repercussions.
But such was the case
in the Garden of Eden. One little
act of disobedience set into motion a chain of events that resounds nightly on
the evening news including the breakdown of homes, resentment that leads to
retaliation, crime running rampant, and wars among nations. Little did Adam and Eve know what their one
little act would bring to mankind. Yet
God didn’t let it end there.
In Romans
5:16, Paul writes, “Adam’s one sin brought the
penalty of death to many, while Christ freely takes away many sins and gives
glorious life instead.” (TLB) While the debt was too big for us to pay,
it wasn’t too big for Christ to pay…and take away.
With a “glorious sacrifice,” the Son of God reversed the
curse of the world’s sins (and our sins) and offered salvation to all that
believe in Him. I guess you can say that
this is one “hooligan” who is grateful He took my penalty stroke.
Terry Risser
Reflections
1)
When was last time you truly pondered the
depth of your sin and the great grace God has offered you?
2)
Take time to thank Him for His willingness
to make the “glorious sacrifice” for you.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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