Whether we're playing a board game with family members, driving to the store for groceries, or trying to jump over a puddle, we find ourselves subject to rules of various kinds.
In some cases there may be some room for flexibility. I've often seen children change rules in a game to give themselves the advantage. But I've also seen adults adjust the rules to get the game over more quickly. No one seems to mind this kind of thing very much and, when agreeable to all parties, anyone can suggest a change and perhaps succeed in implementing a change in the way a game is played.
When it comes to the rules of the road, things are a little more cut and dried. While individual police officers may be able to issue a warning instead of a ticket, they can't change the rules of the road any more than the motorist can. Only the government body which made the original rule has the authority to change it.
The laws of nature are exceedingly rigid. If the strength in your legs is not sufficient to propel you to the other side of the puddle, you are going to get wet feet (at the very least). Outside of a few spectacular miracles which Jesus performed, the laws of nature are fixed. While we may sometimes consider this an inconvenience, by and large we depend on their immutability to do things as simple as walking and as complex as benefiting from contemporary communications media.
Rules also govern the way we interact with each other. From courtesy in the home to international diplomacy, we all can sense when we have been honoured and when we've been insulted. One of the rules of relationships is that in a case where an offense has been perpetrated, the offended party is always the one who sets the terms for reconciliation.
We just can't imagine anyone getting away with insulting someone and then laying down the parameters for restoration of the relationship. Even if the offender has a change of heart and apologizes, asking forgiveness, the one who has been emotionally hurt decides whether or not he or she will extend forgiveness and enter into the process of getting things back on track.
Though we must never bring God down to our level, it is a fact that He is "a person." Our interpersonal relationships mirror some of the realities of our relationship with God. This is never more true than regarding this issue of who sets the conditions for restoration of a broken relationship.
Because our behaviour consistently falls short of God's standards and we insist on acting in selfish rebellious ways, we offend God. Consequently, it is not up to us to make the terms by which we will come to God. Read the Bible or any other sacred text, humans don't tell deity how things are going to be. It always flows from the Creator to the Created. So what are the terms that God established. They can be stated briefly like this.
And that's it. We all sin. I've never met anyone who claims to have never broken their own standards of behaviour, let alone God's. We will perish unless we accept God's offer. This is one of those laws which is immutable. We can't change it. Even God can't change it, because to do so would force Him to set aside His own justice. What is your response to God's terms of reconciliation?
Ron Hughes
© January 2008