Justification, Redemption and This Summer

This past spring, our church did a sermon series called Crosswords. It was a series that delved into some of the 'fancy church words' surrounding the crucifixion. It was one of my favorite sermon series that our church has done. The words we tackled in this series were, "Word" "Redemption" "Reconciliation" "Justification" "Sanctification" and "Propitiation." Because I appreciated this series, I decided to listen to it again this past week. So far, I have only listened to Redemption and Justification.

The first word we (Ashley and I) listened to was justification. In the Justification sermon, the first point my Dad emphasizes is that in order for Justification to become a tangible and successful concept, God must be constant. Because of this, His morals are constant throughout time, and his judgment is unchanging. His standards don't ever change.

The next word we listened to was redemption. In the redemption sermon, there was a point that stuck out very clearly to me. Dad gave an example of the 'Debtors Prison' that existed during Charles Dicken's time. This was an awful institution in which members of society living in debt were imprisoned because they owed money. The dilemma is that individuals were sent to prison because they were in debt, yet they could not pay off their debt because they were in prison.

The debtors prison was a cycle in which despair succeeded and hope was lost for the people living in this institution. As I was hearing Dad describe the debtors prison, it began to sound oddly familiar to me. It slowly dawned on me that the homeless population that I am learning to love is modern day equivalent to the debtors prison. They are trapped in an institution that is bound to the cycle of poverty, and is almost impossible to break. Just as it was easy to make a quick mistake and be in debt, then thrown in prison, the same can be spoken on in reference to homelessness.

The fact that this broken downward cycle of poverty is still the same in our modern day society, just as it existed in Charles Dickens day is depressing, to say the least. But...there's a positive side as well :)

This cycle of poverty has continued throughout a long period of time, and has remained consistent. On the flip side, just like the justification sermon states, our God has continued throughout a long period of time, and has remained consistent as well. As I was thinking through this, I was so encouraged. At times, when I am talking to people who are broken and destitute, it can be a temptation to be very discouraged. But, I am so encouraged in knowing that as long as there is this cycle of brokenness, there is always going to be my God on the other side. He will always work as a balance to the brokenness that exists, because he is constant. Because of that, I know that I can go about my days knowing that just as he always has, my God will always continue to be there to balance out the brokenness :)