The Scandal of the Cross

An expat got into a long conversation with a man called “Ike” about what it means to follow the rules of Islam. Ike talked about how he sometimes drinks, sometimes eats pork, and doesn’t pray five times a day. He said that what matters is when we stand before God, and He judges that we are more good than bad. The expat asked him what God would say to him if he stood before the judgment seat today. He answered “I don’t really know.” Eventually, the expat told him that he himself could stand before God with confidence because Christ took his punishment and made him holy through his dying on the cross and rising from the grave. Ike said “someone else paying your debt is crazy, shocking.” With glee in his heart, the expat told him wholeheartedly “indeed, it is shocking. It is an injustice that an innocent man, God Himself, died in my place. But He was the only one who could live up to God’s standards, and He is the only one who could take my sin away.” Pray that Ike continues to be mesmerized by the scandal that is the cross of Christ.