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The ultimate bail-out package
Firstly for some light-hearted
banter! Even as dark clouds of depression hang somberly above the American
economy (is anyone not aware?), we do see some “silver linings” of humour in
them. For instance take this self-deprecatory cartoon humour of a bulging,
balding entrepreneur quite used to striking big business deals in a golf
course. He is seen to be saying with no golfing partner around in a golf
course…“ I am in a period of depression, because my
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hair-line is under recession
and my waist-line under inflation”. Yet another joke doing the rounds
about American giant companies pertains to their balance sheets. It is joked
that in their balance sheets on the “left hand side (Liabilities), there is
nothing right and on the right hand side (Assets), THERE IS NOTHING LEFT”
(sic)! Be that as it may, full marks to President Obama and his dedicated team
donning the Doctors’ attire, as it were, for working overtime to revive their
“sick” economy now breathing heavily under “a ventilator in an ICU”.
The much bandied about phrase in
connection with the “revival” of the “fallen” American economy is the “bail-out
package”. Billions of dollars being pumped-in generously from the Government
treasury make-up this “package” which at least theoretically is guaranteed to
wrench good ole' Uncle Sam out of his economic woes. In the context of the “fallen
mankind” too, God the Almighty came-up with His own “bail-out package”, signed,
so to speak, with the precious blood of His own Son.
Now in this essay, let us under
the following sub-titles consider both the background and the foreground
of this Divine “bail-out” package, remembering all the while that a bailout is
necessary only when a person is in the dock.
Firstly, the background…
-
Prosperity: Before the “spiritual
poverty” arrived, man created in God’s own Holy image
(Genesis 1:27) was
anything but a spiritual pauper. He and his better-half (responsible for more
than half of his bitterness, later on) were “richly clothed” in holiness, so
much so, with their hearts completely pure like that of little children, they
never even felt the need to cloth themselves with anything! Is not the happy scene
of the little children in their pristine innocence running around merrily in
our homes oblivious of their nakedness even today a representative of the “holy
days” before the Fall (Genesis 3:1-7)?
-
Poverty: Just as the giant American
banks are responsible for their own penury (was it not plain stupidity to
extend home loans left, right and center without properly checking the
credit-worthiness of their clientele), Man by his willful disobedience was
responsible for his own impoverishment. Now deprived of his holy innocence,
there he languished covering up his shame with fig-leaves
(Genesis 3:7) which
never were going to be sufficient to cover-up his nudity completely, so much
so, God had to step in to cover him adequately
(Genesis 3:21) with the skin of an
innocent animal slain sacrificially for this purpose. Even today, the “good
deeds” many perform to cover their sinfulness (Can we ever pay God off? Damn
that thought!) are nothing but “inadequate fig leaves”, which can never be a
sufficient substitute for “God’s way” of clothing us with His own righteousness
at His own terms. Moving the analogy further, it can be said that when He
provides clothes for us, it would be fitting even for a Royal wedding but if we
insist on we wearing our own "threadbare clothes", it would purely be our fault
(Matt 22:1-13)!
-
Replevy: Among other signs (Genesis 22:13/
Exodus 12:21-23) before the Gospel age,
the innocent animal, which was slain to cloth man with its skin, too was a
harbinger of the coming Redeemer. God the gracious Creator was never going to
let man wallow in his spiritual destitution forever. Central to God’s “bailout
package” was the incarceration and death of the “Incarnated Lamb, which
takes away the sins of the World by dying the atoning and the most
condescending death (John 1:14, 29,
Philippians 2:7-11).”
Would any President of
any Nation worth his bailout salt give-up all his wealth, in order the poor
citizens of his country become rich?
Yet the Bible says of the Saviour using the economical parlance “…our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,
so that you by his poverty might become rich”
(2 Cor 8:9). In
trendy contemporary colloquy, it would translate to “a Divine millionaire
became a spiritual slumdog, in order we spiritual slumdogs become ethereal
millionaires”.
If even “good deeds” performed out of the ambit of His Grace are as filthy as
menstruous cloth in His eyes (Isa 64:6-original Greek rendition), then how
DIRTY sin would seem to Him. Now imagine, when the Saviour stepped into this
World, was He not aware of how much and what horrendous type of polluted filth
(sin of all ages-past, present and future), He would allow to come upon His
blemish less, spotless person? YES, HE WAS FULLY AWARE, HE WAS ALSO AWARE THAT
THIS (HE BECOMING SIN-BEARER) WOULD LEAD TO A TEMPORARY BREAK IN HIS
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HOLY FATHER, YET HE CAME!
-
Doxology: Even as this sublime
truth registers on us, should we not say loudly “JAI HO, TO THE LORD”! While
on the current hot topic …oh yes…Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire…, I
cannot but compare and contrast its theme, with what Bible declares in
2 Cor 8:9.
Firstly, if the World finds this Danny Boyle’s rags to riches hoopla sensational,
then logically how much more irresistible should be the sublime story of
“riches to rags” fuelled by the sacrificial passion of the Redeemer to the Fallen World?
Stretching the story line further, if the Maker of this movie, presumably
having a “soft corner” for Mumbai slum-dwellers were challenged for a
moment to do “a kamaal for the likes of Jamal”… transfer all the
fortune, he had amassed courtesy this movie to the needy slum-dwellers
of Mumbai, who were central to his creative plot, would he do it? NO!
But what about the Saviour? Did He not give-up his immeasurable riches
in order we exchange our rags (our so called righteousness, our
“apparent” good deeds, our blatant sinfulness et al-
Isaiah 64:6) with the
same!
Only the most hard-hearted
amongst us would not say “JAI HO” to the Redeemer, worse not accept His
salvation plan
(Heb 2:3). How true is the saying that it is not our fault to be
“born” a sinner, but it would be our fault to “die” as one, without accepting
in this lifetime, God’s “bailout” package prepared, as it were, at an
inestimable cost (2 Cor 9:15)! Want to accept God’s bailout package? Then say
this prayer whole-heartedly “Father, I am a sinner worthy of an Eternal
death, I believe You sent your Son Jesus Christ to die an atoning death on my
behalf. On the basis of His substitutionary death, please forgive all my sins.
I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I say this prayer in my Saviour
Jesus’ Name! AMEN!” Believe me, you have won an immeasurable prize, before
which the KBC like prize or even an Oscar would stand dwarfed!
In conclusion, coming to
foreground part of this essay, I would like to state that Christianity is
not only about taking a person to Heaven, it is also about getting
HEAVEN INTO HIM. Doesn’t our Lord prepare us for Eternity by giving us
foretaste of heaven on Earth itself by letting the Holy Spirit reside within us
(Romans 8:23 TLB)? Yes, our ride to eternity is a not only a certainty
(I Peter 1:4,5
/ Phillipians 1:6) but it is also marked by gaiety, as it were, as there is
always overflowing love, joy and peace in our hearts
(Gal 5:22,23). In
retrospect, it needs to be said WE OWE ALL OF THIS (the certainty of we being
in Heaven and experiencing the infinite joy of Heaven within us in Earth
itself) TO GOD’S BAILOUT PACKAGE put in operation 2000 years ago. Is He not of
all the people in the Universe worthy of a full-throated “JAI HO”! More loudly,
please…
(Suresh Manoharan)
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