The Price of Peace
An incident occurred in my family when I was a young girl of seven or eight years old that I have rarely shared. I’ll admit, it was not my finest hour.
On a Sunday afternoon, while everyone napped, I crept past my sleeping parents into their bathroom and quietly closed the door. I then located a box of matches kept in the vanity drawer, and proceeded to methodically strike them one by one. I watched the blue flame snake its way down the wooden stick turning it into a black question mark. At the last minute, before it reached my fingers, I dropped it into the toilet where it let out the tiniest of sighs as it gave up the ghost.
After a while, I decided I should get out of there before I was discovered. I put the matches back where I’d found them and slinked out of the bathroom, past my dozing parents, and into my room. In my young mind, I fully believed I’d gotten away with this act of reckless disobedience, and my parents none the wiser.
I was wrong.
A couple of days later, my six-year-old brother and I were summoned to the living room. Unbeknownst to me, I’d left behind evidence of my crime. Some of the spent matches missed the toilet and landed on the floor beside it. Presented with the evidence, the cross examination of suspects got underway.
Daddy was an easy-going man forever cracking jokes and making puns. He could always be counted on to keep the mood light. Not so on this day. With every denial by my brother and I, my dad became more and more angry. Someone was guilty, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.
I can no longer remember the exact threats that were issued, but I do remember the questioning was more intense than I’d ever experienced. This wasn’t going to end until he found out who the transgressor was. The rod was going to be applied, that much was clear. There would to be no peace until the guilty one was found out and the punishment handed down. The longest minutes of my young life played out to the tune of my pounding heart. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it any longer, a confession broke the silence.
“I did it,” my brother blurted out.
I was stunned. Many years later, I learned I wasn’t the only one. My parents had suspected me from the beginning. Without proof though, they couldn’t be sure. There was no hard evidence to rebut my bother’s confession.
As I stood silently by, the innocent one was led away to the gallows, and I, the guilty one, went free. Punishment was administered, and peace settled on our house again. To this day, I don’t know why I so firmly denied my guilt. Perhaps it was the most basic and human of all mankind’s traits, self-preservation. I simply did not want to get a spanking.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
There’s a prophetic description in Isaiah 53:5 of the coming Messiah that says “… The punishment that brought peace was upon Him…” That picture came alive for me all those years ago although it took me many more years to make the connection.
When Jesus came on the scene, there was chaos and sin. These needed to be dealt with in order for there to be lasting peace between God and man. Mankind was guilty. The Father knew this. Jesus knew it too. Yet, he stepped forward and took the punishment for our sin. The innocent One was led away to be nailed to a cross while we, the guilty ones, went free.
Romans 8:17 indicates that we are children of God and joint heirs with Christ. It’s reasonable to say, then, that Jesus is our brother. The brother who stepped in to take our place and bring peace between our Father and us.
Over the course of time, I revealed to my mom and dad that I had actually been the one striking matches in their bathroom on that Sunday afternoon. The incident has become part of family lore. I still don’t understand why my bother did what he did. Perhaps he was protecting me, or maybe, he cracked under pressure. Either way, that day he gave us a picture of a selfless love willing to pay the price for peace.