"LOOKING OVER BOTH SHOULDERS"
I am sure that the infamous bandits of the Old West* like Jesse James and the Daltons would have loved to go and commit their heinous crimes and then ride off into the sunset, settling somewhere in peace and spending their ill-gotten gains. I am positive that even today, the criminal always has it in his deluded mind that one day he will finally thwart the rule of law that demands justice. He really does believe that he will turn a corner or board a plane or drive a car off into the night and just escape. (*for the benefit of our international readers, "Old West" was the term for the western frontier of the North American continent during its exploration and expansion.)
The massive weight of reality, however, rests heavily upon him. No matter how enticing the dream of freedom seems, no matter how urgently he pushes himself to rest and be released from his anxiety, the criminal cannot escape the truth. The law has been broken; the dignity of justice has been impugned. The man who scoffs at the law and lifts a proud eye toward the horizon is forever plagued by the threat of capture and punishment. He knows that around every corner there lurks the very real possibility of being found and turned in. With nowhere to go, the criminal is trapped between his guilt on one hand and his maniacal, hopeless drive to free himself on the other.
Jesus Christ said of the blessed Holy Spirit that He would "convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment". The Holy Spirit is the far-reaching arm of God's Law, ever vigilant and able to apprehend the sinner who is fleeing. David the Psalmist prayed, "Whither can I go from Thy presence?", and the answer is: nowhere. We cannot gain for ourselves a moment's respite from the pursuit of the Spirit of God. We? you ask. Yes, we, friends, because we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We have all turned aside from God's perfect Law and have instead cried "we are delivered (set free, given permission) to do" those things which God has called hateful and abominable in His sight. We are the guilty ones, and we flee from God's call, "Adam, where art thou?" the second it reaches our ears. We have hidden ourselves under handfuls of leaves and have argued from the cover of the bushes that we had reason to flee God. Flee though we may, He has found us out, and always does and always will. Our guilt is ever before us, and though we while away our days trying in vain to justify ourselves, we cannot escape the absolute standard of a holy and all-powerful God. He is thrice-holy; we are corrupt through and through. He demands clean hands and a pure heart if we would ascend his holy mountain, yet we are defiled and we defile ourselves further still. Turn that corner, O my soul! Drive that car! Board that plane for some faraway place! Yet into every darkened corner of my existence comes a flood of the Light of God! Run though you may, sin-dead soul, you cannot, I cannot, no matter how we try, escape the coming arrest and conviction and sure and eternal punishment that we are so justly due!
"He that hath the Son hath life; He that hath not the Son shall not see life, buth the wrath of God abideth on him." "He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the Name of the only-begotten Son of God." Condemned already! The judgment is sure, because the law has already been broken! There is no plea for the sinner alone; he cannot avoid the plain truth that his guilt is known to God. It is only a matter of time before the appointment to stand in His presence is kept.
"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father: Christ Jesus, the Righteous." The Righteous? There is a righteous One? God accepts this Jesus? Who is He? Given for sinners! Slain as a lamb without spot or blemish! Dying once for all, He has redeemed a people for God and cleansed them by the flow of His Blood! Oh, the Word of God decalres it! A cleft in the Rock! A Voice calling out to the storm that overwhelms us! "Peace; be still", He cries, and the winds and the seas obey! Who is this?
"Come forth!" He cries, and "he who was dead came forth". The Intercessor between sinful man and Holy God. His voice, the Word tells us, will cause them who are in the graves to come forth. HEAR, then, fleeing criminal! His Voice, the Voice of the Christ, our Kinsman-Redeemer, is the only voice pleading for you! His is the Blood that pardons! His Cross alone, the table at which the ransom of sinners is transacted! Guilty, all, and fleeing, but to where? Dare you to flee FROM the One who cannot be thwarted? Flee instead to the safety of the rock that was cleft so that you might hide inside.
Holy Spirit of God, make known to us by Thy great power the depth of our sin. Reveal to us the hopelessness of hiding from Thy sight. We have no other plea than that Christ Jesus hath ransomed us. Take instead of our insult, His obedience. Receive His offering in righteousness rather than our rebellion. We throw ourselves upon Thy great mercy that declares that "God will provide Himself the Lamb." In Christ our Lord alone is hope and pardon. Amen.
