Locked from the Inside

There was a certain judge known as Hanging Bob, because he handed out such stiff penalties for those who broke the law. One day, his son was arrested for drunken driving. The courtroom was filled with people who wanted to see if Hanging Bob would be consistent in the way he meted out justice. A hush fell across the room as Hanging Bob pounded down his gavel and said, “Guilty.” Just as he always did, he had given out the harshest penalty.

But then that same judge laid down his gavel, took off his robe, and descended from the bench. He turned to the courtroom and said, “As a judge, I have done my job and enforced the law. Now, as a father, I will pay the fine for him.”

God, in His justice, gave us the standard: When we sin, we break God’s law and have to face the penalty. But the same God sent His Son to die on the cross—to be tortured and killed—because His righteous requirement had to be dealt with. God said, “Though you are the offender, though you deserve what you would get, I love you so much that I placed the penalty upon My Son. Now He has paid the price. If you will turn to Me by faith, realize that My Son died for you, and will follow Him, then you can join Me in Heaven.”

Yet if you reject God’s gracious offer, if you spurn His forgiveness, then you have charted your own course. And as C. S. Lewis said, the gates of Hell are locked from the inside.