Troy Davis
Troy Davis, a man that's claimed his innocence, was recently executed on September 21, 2011. People protested, appeals were made, marches were conducted and many other efforts took place to spare his life.
Let's imagine if one of these protesters stepped forward, and said, "Let me die for Troy Davis, and let him go free." Would you have given up your life for him? Let's say your love for him moved you to actually die in his place. You would give up your life so that he could have his. Do you think he would be grateful for your sacrifice? I believe he would be extremely grateful. And the world would claim you as a hero. Troy would be sad that you died, but he would forever honor your love and sacrifice, because for whatever reason that motivated your sacrifice, you didn't have to die in his place.
The Gospel
About 2,000 years ago, there was a man named Jesus Christ who claimed to be the actual Son of God. He never broke God's commandments and was the most righteous man that ever lived. However, His life was tragically ended as a criminal, and amazingly He came back to life on the third day after His death. To those who would believe in Him would be given eternal life.
The Connection
Spiritually speaking we are all in the same situation that Troy Davis was in. Troy Davis was on death row, and the nation was hoping that he would be pardoned or given clemency (a fancy word for mercy or lenience); however it never happened. For those who don't know what pardon means it is the forgiveness of a crime and the cancellation of the relevant penalty. Each of us must face God for judgement when we die. If we're honest with ourselves we are all guilty of breaking His commandments. Do not lie. Do not steal. Love God with all your hearts. If we're guilty, we will be sentenced for every offense that we've committed against God. God will see to it that every lawbreaker is punished on the Day of Judgement. So in essence mankind is on death row.
However, God in His mercy made it possible for mankind to be pardoned. This undeserved pardon is possible because Jesus historically stepped in place of mankind and suffered the execution that God demands at the cross for every lawbreaker. Although we deserve our punishment because we knowingly did wrong and can't claim innocence, Jesus took our punishment in exchange for His righteousness (I will discuss later, but to keep it simple - It's like wearing the perfection of Christ as a trench coat that covers all of our filthiness and when God see's it, it says that we're perfect just like Christ). For those who receive this pardon, they don't have to fear the Day of Judgement, because they have escaped the punishment to come because Jesus suffered for them.
Sadly many people do not believe this actually happened or know that they need God's pardon. Many enjoy celebrating His birthday, but don't want God's gift (Jesus Christ). To many Jesus Christ is not a hero. But to others He is their Hero. They love Him with all of their heart and out of gratitude for His sacrifice they want to honor Him in everything they do, because they recognized that they deserve the execution of God that awaited them, but now they are free!!!
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