Captain America

  Captain America, Steve Rogers, in the movie The First Avenger, is a skinny, asthmatic guy who wants to fight the Nazis.  Finally he is accepted into a special unit where he is the least of the raw recruits  and he is ridiculed and bullied from the officers on down.  One day in the training yard the CO tosses a (supposedly) live grenade into their midst.  Everyone runs for cover except Steve.  He runs toward the grenade and throws himself on it.  He is willing to die for those who fought, bullied and shamed him.  Not what anyone expected.
  Upon reflection, it struck me as the Christ-like thing to do.  As the Scriptures tell us, Jesus died for us even though we did not deserve it and still don't deserve it.  In fact, we can never deserve it.  God does not mete out to us the punishment we deserve for our sins, but the mercy of his Son's death for us.  He gives us mercy in place of justice.  Not what anyone expected.
  We are challenged by Jesus and Captain America to apply mercy rather than justice.  Are we up to the challenge?
#Mercy #Justice #Romans5 #CaptainAmerica #SteveRogers #Prayer #Unexpected
 

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