For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand. (Isaiah 52:15b) (NIV)
Orphans bounced like popcorn on the trampoline at the mission house in Zimbabwe. Normally they laughed and took turns, four at a time. This day, sharing was abandoned and I had to intervene. Eight little combatants pushed and shouted in their native Shona. My polite English didn't reach them.
“Stop,” I shouted.
They froze.
“Get off.”
Eight pairs of bare feet scampered away.
Human words are an imperfect medium. Even when we’re speaking the same language, misunderstandings are frequent. Knowing this, God communicated his most important message in a way it wouldn’t be lost amidst our confusion. Jesus was God’s shout from heaven.
God didn’t leave his offer for reconciliation dependent on words alone. He needed a way to cut through language and culture to say, “I love you and I’ll do anything to save you.” Sending his all glorious Son to die an unjust death, heralds a message so loud that none can mistake it.
The communique of the cross will make it impossible for us to stand at Judgment Day and say we didn’t understand God. Any who would not respond to the grand demonstration of sacrificial love must belong to the fiery abyss of hell.
Prayer: Father, thank you for shouting salvation at me.