Bloodshed

By sundoulos

I just attended a wonderful mini-conference on the topic of "The Sufficiency of Christ", particularly as He fills His three-fold office of Prophet, Priest and King. In the session on "Jesus Christ: Our Majestic Mediator" the speaker observed that the concept of blood sacrifice doesn't play well in our contemporary culture. The irony of that statement struck me especially in light of current events:

• Zealots blow up a kerosene tanker in Iraq killing 37 and wounding 40
• Man repeatedly stabs wife and 2-year-old while motorists watch
• Woman's body found, fetus missing and cut from her womb perhaps with scissors
• Man shoots woman to death in domestic violence shelter

Which set me to pondering the question: Why is it so easy for mankind to shed the blood of another and so hard to accept the blood of another shed for them? By the way, the "headlines" above don't even touch the idea of the 40-plus million babies in the USA and 300-plus million babies in China and the elderly and terminally-ill aborted, euthanized, or assisted suicided on the altar of self.

Just goes to show the absolute depths of depravity found in the soul of every man, woman and child. And that all confirms mankind's utter helplessness to save himself in spite of his thoughts to the contrary. Thank God He didn't leave us to ourselves, or almost as bad, leave the decision up to us.