Friday, March 21, 2008

When Hammers Are Good














For 28 years it separated East Germany from West Germany, destroying relationships and hindering peace. But in November of 1989, the Berlin Wall was finally dismantled as thousands of jubilant souls, with hammers in hand, began to chip away and destroy the hated barrier.

The obliteration of the Berlin wall is truly a fascinating chapter in human history but it is not the first time that reconciliation and peace has been brought about by the volatile blows of hands and hammers.

In Isaiah 53:5a, speaking of the crucifixion of the Messiah, the prophet writes, “The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

The divider that separates the world from its Creator is not a barrier of concrete and stone but rather a wall of sin and transgression. Our Holy God, who cannot condone or be connected with, iniquity in any way, was separated from humanity because of its disobedience. But, in the substitutionary death and chastisement of Jesus, the relationship-destroying wall of division was removed as God satisfied the required punishment for sin through the savage blows of human hands on the back of the Messiah.

The destruction of the Berlin Wall was an important historical event that reunited loved ones and facilitated peace. However, much more significant was the removal of the barrier of sin and transgression that was accomplished when violent hands used heavy hammers to fasten the Son of God to a rugged cross.

Today is Good Friday. It is indeed good isn’t it?

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