Moment of Meditation: Eye for an Eye (Matthew 5:38)

"You have heard that it was said,
'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'"
(Matthew 5:38)

Eye for an Eye

Revenge is so exacting. So exact. When we're wronged, we want to pay back just as much as was done to us. If a dollar is stolen, we want to take a dollar back. If our dog is run over, we want to run over the driver's dog. We understand this "eye for an eye" mentality.

Jesus quotes what God says in the Law in Exodus 21:23-25. We find it fair as long as we're in charge of the value of the damage expected to be repaid to us. But what about the debt--the damage--we've caused with our sins? St. Paul says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). The value of the damage of your sins is your life. Your life has to be taken away to repay the damage.

Jesus became Immanuel, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23), so that He might repay your debt for you. God's revenge on your sins has been meted out with Jesus' death on the cross of Calvary. Full repayment has been made. Nothing else needs to be added. All you need, especially in this Christmas season, if to believe that He was born to pay your debt for you. Amen.