October 2, 2006, was a terrible day for several families among the Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A deranged man, Charlie Roberts, took an Amish schoolhouse hostage and tragically killed five girls. It was also a terrible day for Charlie’s very religious family members who lived near the Amish. The Roberts were absolutely shattered by their son’s and husband’s actions. Friends and church members came to comfort them. But the first visitor they had was Henry. Why is that remarkable? He was the father of one of the victims! He went to the Roberts’ home and consoled this shooter’s grieving parents and wife. The entire Amish community sent a clear message that they forgave Charlie and showed them love and mercy.
Charlie’s family used words like redemption and restoration to describe what the Amish did as an illustration of what God did. Paul writes to a church while in prison for preaching Christ (Col. 1:19-23). Try to imagine the emotions those Amish families went through on their way to consoling the family of the man who took their children and permanently changed their lives. Then try to imagine a perfect, all-powerful and all-knowing God, whose perfectly innocent Son died because of us. What kind of people were we? Paul says we were enemies, separated from Him by our evil thoughts and actions. We may not have been a Charlie Roberts, but our sin separated us from God (Isa. 59:2). But we weren’t just related to a sinner; We were the sinner.
But God did not sit back and wait for us to grovel and beg. He had a plan before the first person ever sinned. Paul discusses this plan in Romans 5:6-10. God reached out to us and justified and reconciled us. Paul begins that discussion in verse one by saying, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is what Paul says to the church in Colosse. And he spells out the price of peace, “The blood of the cross of Christ.” What does this gift show us?
It shows us how much He wants a relationship with us (Col. 1:18-21). The Father held back nothing to heal the fracture our sin caused in our relationship. What steps did He take? God became flesh (19-20), He experienced the pain and suffering we rightfully deserved (20; 2 Cor. 5:21), then He gave us the roadmap home through the gospel (23). It’s absolutely true that the response of the Amish reflected God’s response to our spiritual crimes.The offended took the first step to mend a broken relationship. Charlie’s dad was an Amish taxi driver and who knew these folks.
It shows us how much potential He sees in us (Col. 1:22). There’s a powerful phrase here: “In order to.” This is a purpose statement. Why make peace through the blood of Christ’s cross?Christ wants to present us before God with three important qualities–holiness, blamelessness, and being beyond reproach. The devil would like us to stay stuck in our sin and guilt. To let that beat us down and keep us from our potential. But Paul says the cross overcomes what we were and makes us more than we ever thought we could be.
It shows us how much it should effect us (Col. 1:23). The way the Amish treated the Roberts profoundly effected them. It changed their life! They repeatedly spoke of how blessed they felt to have experienced that lovingkindness. While they would have desperately wished never to have gone through such shame and loss, the grace they felt changed them. Paul is saying that’s what the cross should do for us. He says, “Plant your feet in the concrete of Scripture.”Don’t let anything move you away from the hope of the gospel. Let it make you so resolved to love and follow God that no trial, temptation or teaching can succeed in making you abandon Jesus.
Steven Curtis Chapman wrote, “How do you explain? How do you describe a love that goes from east to west and runs as deep as it is wide? You know all our hopes, Lord, you know all our fears, and words cannot express the love we feel but we long for you to hear.” Try to put yourself in Charlie Roberts’ parents’ and wife’s place, watching members of the Amish community, whose daughters were taken by your son, walking up your sidewalk, coming in your house, hugging you and praying with you. How would you describe that to other people? By a life lived in appreciation for that incredible gift. There’s no comparison to what Christ did through the blood of the cross. It brings instant harmony in our relationship with God, making things right with Him. It’s hard to describe that feeling, so the best thing we can do is live lives that show everyone how much we appreciate it!
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