Martha Olawale

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

I called all my kids to ask who left things out of place in their play area, and as usual, the three answers were the same “not me!” I’ve gotten so accustomed to this that I’ve learned a few detective tricks to catch the guilty kid each time. I’ve lived with them all their lives, so to a large extent, I can predict who did what based on their personalities.

Taking responsibility is not just a human thing. Instead, we’d pull the world down with us before accepting the guilty plea. We are color-blind to guilt, and nothing is ever our fault. Even when the evidence is stacked high against us, we deny the obvious, convincing everyone around us that the color is white when it is red. The deterioration of our relationships is usually because of others and never us.

The “whodunit” game ingrained in humanity is evident in our daily denial of the responsibilities that surround us. We are always looking for who to blame or shift our faults on. When the bell rang for who would take the fall for the sins of mankind, Jesus raised His hands and answered in our stead at Calvary. He assumed the nature of man to live like man, walk the path that we walk, and die in the most shameful way any man could. Christ’s death on the cross was a once-and-for-all deal, and regardless of who you are, where you’ve been, the road you’ve traveled, or what you look like, the cross speaks loud and clear because Jesus hung on it to take your place.

Although our sinful nature leads to destruction, God’s love for man is infinite. He left the comfort of Heaven to pave a path for us to reach Him through Christ. And everyone who accepts the gift and sacrifice of Jesus’s death on the cross gets to plead “Not guilty” because you can’t charge two people for the same crime. 1 John 2:2 states, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the entire world.”