Plantinga Ch. 4: Redemption

This chapter offered a bit more encouragement than the last.  One of the quotes that stuck out to me was when Plantinga was talking about Jesus being the "perfect penitent" and how he "absorbed evil without passing it on."  What would the world look like if we "absorbed evil without passing it on?"  I think this goes along with the part of the Beatitudes that says, "blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you for my sake."  This is the very thing that Jesus did, but he also absorbed our debts and paid for them in full.  Jesus refused to return evil with evil and instead offers love and forgiveness.  This reminds me of a quote by Martin Luther King Jr.: 

           “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. We never get rid of an enemy by meeting hate with hate; we get rid of an enemy by getting rid of enmity. By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up. Love transforms with redemptive power” (Strength to Love).  

     I also was struck by "Everybody wants liberty.  The problem is that everybody wants it on his own terms."  This is of course talking about the liberty we receive in Christ-liberty from our sins.  Many times I pray, asking God for forgiveness and for help in living a better life from now on.  The problem is, I go about doing all the things I want, the way I want to do them.  Many people get confused with the verses that say "faith without works is dead" but "good works alone can't get you to heaven."  This is where the terms justification and sanctification come in.  Justification is the when we become free from our sins.  If that justification means anything to us as Christians, we will follow it up with sanctification-that is, becoming more Christ-like.  We often want all the benefits of Christianity (eternal life) without having to live a Christian life.  Every single day we need to die to ourselves, and become alive again in Christ. 
    We also need to constantly grow in our relationship with Christ-by "trying on our grown-up clothes."  If we clothe ourselves with the virtues of Christ every day, eventually they will fit.  This is how we become like Christ.  Every time we win a battle for God, whether it be in our mind or in our actions, these "clothes" fit a little bit better.