I enter the courtroom, before me stands a judge. Not just any judge, the perfect judge. He loves truth and righteousness and despises deceit.
I realize at once that I know him, and that he knows me….intimately, my innermost thoughts, the darkest depths of my soul. A pitch black cloud of guilt, shame, and fear envelops me. In my fear I think, “Surely he can’t see me in this darkness. He can’t see the truth. I can hide my guilt from him. I will not confess my guilt.”
My counselor, whom the court has appointed for me, advises me that the judge already knows the truth, and that the evidence the court has against me is enough to condemn me to death. The evidence of my life speaks so much louder than my words.
There is no purpose in this cloud, yet it remains and turns to despair. My heart breaks. My soul sinks deep down within me. Realizing that even in the darkest places I am fully exposed before this judge, my heart cries out “Guilty”. My soul grieves for the loss of righteousness and I am truly repentant.
The couselor steaks a claim in my repentance by standing with me and assuring me that he will continue to be with me to counsel me. He reminds me of the innocent man that came before me. This man has already served sentence for my actions. The court has been satisfied. The debt for my actions has been paid.
The counselor disperses the pitch black cloud bringing me fully into the light, He asks me to put on the clothes of the man who sacrificed for me and he presents my brokenness before the most honorable judge with a cry for mercy. The judge replies “Granted” and picks up the pieces of my broken heart and restores it. He lifts up my downcast spirit and sets me on a path to righteousness.
