The Thirteenth Juror

I know a lot of people have been following the Casey Anthony trial.  Even days after the verdict, the buzz is still there. People are crying out because they feel justice was not served.  I have mixed emotions about the outcome.  I am confused.  I am outraged that an innocent life was cut short, and we do not know if it was murder or an accident.  More questions remain than the trial answered...and we need those answers to resolve this in our hearts.

 This trial has exposed deep anger and a lack of compassion that exists in our society.  Death threats have been issued for the judge, jurors,  Ms. Anthony and her parents.  I have seen facebook postings and heard quotes from the media saying that Ms. Anthony will spend eternity in hell for her actions.  We as a society have convicted her of 1st degree murder, even though a jury of 12 people unanimously said that sufficient evidence was not there to convict her.  In a way, public opinion plays the role of the 13th juror--because it is the public that will determine in a large way of how her life will be from this point forward.  We were outraged that a child's death was not avenged--and now we are taking it out by being as hateful as we possibly can towards her.

In that aspect, I truly feel sorry for her.  I know she is a self-proclaimed liar.  She was proven to be a party girl.  It is proven that in Ms. Anthony's short life so far she has made many mistakes that were life altering. It seems that she came from a dysfunctional family, and has continued the cycle that her parents passed along to her through their example.  She has been used and thrown away to live with those consequences alone.  When I look at her, I hope I see her as Jesus saw her--a sinner who is just doing what sinners do best, a sinner who needs help--and her only hope is Jesus.

I believe that everything happens for a reason and that God is in control of everything--even the Casey Anthony trial.  She received a second chance from the jury--just like we have received a second chance when we received Christ as our Savior.  The Bible tells us that we should not judge others, unless we want to be judged on those same standards.  Jesus said that we should cast stones only if we are sinless, when he was facing a mob ready to stone a woman who was caught red handed in adultery.  Although he was sinless, He even chose not to pick the stones and hurl them at her  (and He was the only one there with the qualifications to do so, but he didn't).  Jesus met people with grace and mercy--even though their actions cried out for punishment and condemnation.  Maybe, we should try to reach out to others the way Jesus did--and if we do, maybe we will see a miracle--a lost sinful soul accept Jesus.  That is the transaction that can turn lives around.

Instead, so many Christians have lashed out in hate and judgement, maybe we should hit our knees for a moment and pray that this young lady will somehow be led to Christ and that she would allow him to transform her life.  After all, transforming lives is what Jesus does best, and I am living proof of that.

I think that the outcome of this trial exposed a weakness that many Christians have in their lives--the ability to forgive and offer mercy to someone who does not deserve it.  We forget that we were once offered mercy when we least expected it, and because of that, God expects the same of us when we experience a sinner with that same, desperate need.  We encounter these people all of the time.  The world is filled with fallen people, who are without hope and need Jesus and a little of his mercy and grace in their lives.  How will you react the next time you encounter them?

You are the 13th juror--what are you going to choose to do?  How will you react.  Will you offer mercy and grace or condemnation....the choice is yours, so choose wisely.

The Journey

This year, our church is challenging us to read the Bible through in a year.  I am following the chronological plan they provided, and am currently reading through Exodus and the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land.  

As I read, I am realizing that so much of this story illustrates the Christian walk.  God called Moses to rescue the Israelites from the bondage of Egyptian slavery.  Their life in Egypt was one of working in temperatures of over 100 degrees F, in the mud and muck making bricks.  They had taskmasters who would make sure the slaves met a certain quota.  As the slaves worked, I am sure the taskmasters would get to know the slaves in order to learn how to best motivate them and get the most amount of work out of each and every slave.  The taskmasters knew how to get every ounce of work out of the slaves without excuse, and when the slaves did not meet their quota--I am sure there was a severe penalty to be paid.

You would think that because they were living in those conditions, that they would be happy to escape with Moses--even if it led to wandering through the desert or fighting for their land.  Anything would have been better than what they left behind in Egypt...right?

Well, as with anything, the newness of their freedom begins to wear off, and life begins to get difficult.  They begin to miss the food of Egypt, complain about too little water, and I am not even going to mention that they make and worship a golden idol when Moses is away for a few days meeting with God.

But before we condemn the Israelites for being spoiled, ungrateful children, let's take a look into our own hearts.

As the Israelites, we were rescued from the bondage of sin by Jesus.  We were enslaved by Satan and doomed to live a life of sin without God.  Jesus rescues us from that and calls us into the Journey of the Christian life.  At first, we are on fire, ready to impact the world for Christ.  After all, we have seen his power first hand, and we want others to know feel what we have experienced.

As the days and years drag by, the newness begins to wear off.  Our short attention spans forget the miracles, wonders, and the lengths that Christ went to to save us from our sin.  We forget how helpless we were, and that we were enslaved by a cruel taskmaster whose soul purpose was to torment us in this life, and in the afterlife.

Life gets hard, and we lose faith.  We begin to try to do things in our own power, only to find out that we can't.  We look back to the good old days when we were captive and remember those pet sins that we used to indulge, or those days with no responsibility---because after all--slaves do not make decisions about their life, they just do what they are told.Then we grumble, just as the Israelites did as they wandered through the desert and the wilderness.  

God took the Israelites on a round about route to the land of Cannan, because they were not spiritually ready to fight the native people of the land.  He led them on a longer path, to build their faith.  I think sometimes God does the same with us.  He knows where our weaknesses are, and works those things out before we ultimately find that sweet spot where God meant for us to be.

We were not created for this life.  We were created as eternal beings for paradise, but sin came in and our purpose was altered.  We are not supposed to be comfortable in this life, but in the one yet to come when we enter Heaven.  Until then, life is a journey, and God uses this life to transform us into who we were meant to be.  As we travel on the journey, we will learn joy, peace, patience, love, and the other fruits of the spirit.  We will be transformed and even live an abundant life here--if we just trust God and allow him to work in the ways that He needs to in this life.  We are on a journey, and the purpose of the journey is to transform us and to make us like Jesus, and to have fellowship with him and obey his commands along the way.