In the Penalty Box

Mist slowly rising off the frozen rink -
Charged, chosen warriors meet at center ice.
Eagerly waiting, poised on the brink:
Their race to the puck, their moves are precise.

Slamming! Jamming! Shooshing! Whooshing!
Barreling! Speeding! Whew - a narrow escape.
Zipping! Whipping! Whirling! Blurring!
Thrashing! Crashing! How much more can he take?!.

The whistle’s shrill blast, the official stops play.
For a revenge-full, avenge-full intentional aggression.
10 minutes is determined what the player will pay
For the bone-crushing penalty – a major transgression.

The penalty tender slides open the locks
And swings open the door to the penalty box.
You must wait. You must stay.
For your transgression you will pay.

A heart in deep freeze, chained up link by link
Charged, chosen anger takes center court.
Eagerly waiting , poised on the brink
Each side is defended like a combat fort.

Lying! Defying! Stealing! Concealing!
Breaking! Forsaking! No love to be found.
Self-protecting! Self-reflecting! Ripping! Whipping!
Never forgiving – frozen, empty and bound.

The spiritual conviction – sin filled heart, sin filled life.
This revenge-full, avenge-full intentional aggression.
Eternity is weighed on the edge of a knife:
There is nothing enough to pay for this compelling transgression.

The penalty tender has the nameplate engraved
For the heart lost in sin, with no hope to be saved.
But Jesus has frozen the punishment clock
Jesus takes our place in the penalty box!

Not for sin He committed
But through grace He is permitted
To pay the price for the debt.
Before we knew Him, He took our place -
Jesus’ love for the human race
Is a gift that is complete and set.

Faith in Christ Jesus brings an assurance we can know:
Faith in Christ Jesus takes the sin-debt away.
Christ Jesus paid the debt He did no owe
To pay for the debt we could not pay.

He took our place
Because of divine love and grace,
In the Penalty Box.

jsi

“No member of the human race except Christ ever gave to God, by dying, anything which that person was not at some time going to lose as a matter of necessity. Nor did anyone ever pay a debt to God which he did not owe. But Christ of his own accord gave to his Father what he was never going to lose as a matter of necessity, and he paid, on behalf of sinners, a debt which he did not owe.

It is in dying Christ gives something that he does not owe. The death of Christ offers something of infinite value and something that is not owed. In so doing, Christ gives God what is necessary to pay for all human sin past and future. Christ, the God-Man, made an infinite payment, that He did not owe, to God for the sins of humankind.”
Anselm, Cur Deus Homo?

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 8:5