Not Guilty: Drop Your Chains
Side note: Never underestimate the joy of first getting to show your child one of the things that had been your favorite when you were her age.
Anyway, it never fails; I always, always blissfully lose myself in the happily-ever-after ending for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet (That was a spoiler, but I figured since the story has been published since 1813, you've got no excuse if you haven't already read or seen it).
Except that Mom Bennet is super embarrassing and over-the-top annoying and Dad Bennet barely manages to tolerate her by ignoring her, or now and then tossing out some witty-but-cutting remark on her character. Both of them avoid a lot of parental responsibility, because it's all too much. Consequently, the two younger Bennet girls are also super annoying and embarrassing, because nobody takes the trouble to "train them up in the way they should go" (Proverbs 22:6). The middle daughter Mary Bennet only reads books and doesn't overly contribute to the story. Somehow (perhaps miraculously, given the circumstances), the older two Bennet girls, Jane and Elizabeth, wind up with both common sense and some idea of what is right and acceptable in society.
So the circumstances brought to Jane and Elizabeth by their mother and younger sisters, and even occasionally, their father, are all the more horrific for them, because none of Jane and Elizabeth's actions are inappropriate. They mind their manners, do the things they're supposed to do, find themselves in interesting relationships with these two single and very wealthy men who have just moved into the neighborhood, and it all might have worked out (besides the major theme of pride and prejudice quite evident between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy) --
Except for the actions of the rest of the family. The youngest Bennet girl, Lydia, decides to elope with the story's villain, Mr. Wickham. And then, to add insult to injury, it comes out that Lydia doesn't elope after all, but rather decides to just move in and live unmarried with Mr. Wickham. The enormity of this scandal -- committed by Lydia and Mr. Wickham -- should have involved only Lydia and Mr. Wickham -- but it doesn't.
Mr. Darcy, by all appearances, withdraws; Jane's chances with the other single man, Mr. Bingley, also seem to be over, and the story should be over.
But it's not. Because when no one is watching, Mr. Darcy, because of his ardent love for Elizabeth, does the unthinkable. He finds the perpetrators, pays the funds that had previously been unpayable by anyone else, and "fixes" the whole issue. Lydia and Mr. Wickham marry and move so far north that there's really not much chance of having to deal with them again. Elizabeth's kind-of-wild sister Kitty improves when she's out from under Lydia's influence, Mary keeps reading her books, Elizabeth marries Mr. Darcy, and Jane marries her rich love interest Mr. Bingley, Mrs. Bennet, while still annoying, has now fulfilled her purpose in life (having at least one of her daughters marry a rich man) and becomes somewhat less annoying, and Mr. Bennet greatly enjoys himself by enclosing himself in the libraries of his two rich sons-in-law.
Happily ever after.
Why did I give you a Pride & Prejudice Cliff's Notes summary?
See, waaaay back in Genesis 1:27, "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created Him, male and female, He created them." And Paul reminds the Romans to whom he is writing of this man whom God had created (Adam), and he also reminds them of what exactly it was that Adam did.
Adam sinned. And we could have a nice, long, drawn-out discussion on: "But Eve sinned first, so why does Adam get the blame," but I'll save that for another day.
"Therefore," says Paul, "just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned..." (Romans 5:12). In other words, because Adam sinned, the entire family of humankind -- all 7+ billion people currently living in this world, along with the billions who have gone before us -- "must partake of Adam's ruin and disgrace."
As my daughter so richly puts it, "Boooo, Adam!"
I'm tempted to join in, until I remember, if it hadn't been Adam, it would have been me. If it wasn't Eve, it would have been me. I remember my frailty, my lack of strength, the way temptations so easily stride through my life and leave me flailing on the ground in their wake, and I realize, Adam, Eve, any one of us could and would have messed it up for everyone else.
But God already had a plan that contrasted with Adam's sin, and He intended to give it to us no-strings-attached. He called it salvation by justification -- in other words, Jesus, Who had never sinned, died in the place of every single sin-filled person on this planet, and made it possible to find our "happily-ever-after" in heaven. We can't do that with sin. With the gift of what Jesus did, though, we can. Happily-ever-after.
How much more awesome was it that Mr. Darcy, who should have wanted nothing more to do with the Bennets by all societal standards, because it seemed that everything that touched them was now repulsive due to Lydia's actions -- chose instead to enter into that family's disgrace, turn the disgrace around, fix the disgrace, and still marry Elizabeth after all of that?
What a story of redemption! What an exponentially greater story of redemption that Jesus did for us! He waded into this slimy, disgusting pit of hopelessness and despair brought on by sin, and He fixed it. He turned the sin around and became righteousness for us.
One of my favorite passages from Scripture is found in Daniel 7. I know I've written this whole passage out on this blog a few times before, but I'm going to do it again, because it's just awesome. Picture the scene: "As I [Daniel] looked, 'thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of His head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before Him. Thousands upon thousands attended Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened" (Daniel 7:9-10).
The defendant is you. It's me. It's every one of us. Sin has brought us here, and the reckoning is at hand. We are guilty. There is no excuse. Nothing can be done... except.
Counselor! Approach the bench!
"In my vision at night, I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all peoples, nations, and men of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed!" (Daniel 7:13-14).
Not guilty. The gavel comes down, and we are free to go!
Doesn't that just... blow your mind? Your heart? We are so entrenched in sin... but because Jesus approached the bench, we are free. Free!
One more scene from Revelation 22. Look at this: "Then the angel showed me [John] the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse!"
No longer will there be any curse! That curse is sin, and Jesus Himself removes that curse!
Y'all... we've got to stop dragging our chains along with us. Drop 'em. Step back. You're free. I'm free!
Hallelujah!
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