Sin eater

What a title, right? Got you to look for sure! My latest read was The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers. I must admit that the book was a weird one and difficult to read. The vernacular was Appalachian, eastern Tennessee in the 1800's. But once I got use the way they spoke, I was able to read it fairly well.

The plot is a small community that is held in fear from believing they must have a man, the sin eater, to take away their sins when they die. This costume is from Wales, Scotland and Ireland (Both sides of my family are from those areas). People believed you needed someone to 'eat up' your sins so you could stand before God on the judgement day. I know many of us would find it hard to understand why they thought this practice necessary. But just imagine a society where a copy of scripture was not readily available. Imagine the control someone could have over that community if they appeared to know what God required of you.

I won't tell the story to you here, I don't want to ruin the book if you choose to read it. But I do want to talk about the impression the book left with me.

God reminded me of the work Jesus did for the sins of the world. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb and the scapegoat all rolled into one person. God ordained that a lamb be slaughtered to cover sins for the coming year, as well a goat be released, bearing the sin of the people. The picture showed us that the lamb sacrificed did not take away the sin but merely postponed the judgement. The scapegoat showed the sin being placed on one being. Every year the Israelites performed this ceremony. And every year, the payment for sin was postponed through the lamb and scapegoat.

Jesus became the sacrificed lamb so that blood would be shed (God required blood for payment) and the one all the sin was placed on, the scapegoat. Through Jesus, our sin can be forgiven and taken away. No need for another sacrifice or scapegoat! And no need for a priest to perform the ceremony for us. Jesus is our high priest! And His sacrifice has met every demand God has for the payment of sin.

God reminded me also that we can easily become weighed down with traditions that don't mean anything to our walk with Christ. We simply do them because "that's how it's done around here." Can't you hear your parents or grandparents saying that?! I agree that some traditions are good to keep around. Just make sure they are helping you grow in the Lord and not keeping you from developing a deeper walk with Him.