Your and my iniquities were laid on him. In self-forgetfulness, humility and faithfulness, he loved you and me. With mercy and grace he asked nothing of us. He gave us a gift, a blessing instead of a curse, absolution instead of retaliation. Jesus prayed for you and me. Jesus released us.

I watched a report on a guy who was recently convicted for the horrific murder of a child decades ago. His imprisonment will be just. But as I looked at his face, I also saw a human being enslaved by the dark, ravaging power of sin. And it struck me that for most people, perhaps even for himself, his real name and personhood no longer matter much. He is unforgivable. You might as well tattoo “The Unforgiven” across his forehead.

Has anger ever gotten the best of you? Has it ever eaten at your soul or caused misjudgments that incite even more anger to return against you? What goes around comes around, right? A person reaps what they sow. That’s a Christian idea, right? Whether it is or not, it seems to reflect our common experience.

First a new planet was discovered, and now reports of new signals coming from outer space. The philosophical and theological questions fascinate me. As humanistic as some want to be, our race still hungers for something or someone beyond human; someone who can save us, who can assure us we truly are not alone.

Have you ever felt like others are searching your life or heart, and it doesn’t feel totally safe? Or have you ever drifted into endlessly searching your own heart -- perhaps out of guilt, anxiety or worry?

Someone once said we all live to the level we believe our destiny to be. Peter agreed. A Christian’s life should be shaped by the hope of our story’s guaranteed ending, and not by the unpredictable volatility of the chapters in between.

This is the most mobile and dislocated society in history. We experience it all the time. What if you were more confident that where you and loved ones reside is under God’s wise and loving management? How might you think or act differently?

The truth is that our world is unpredictable and the road isn’t safe. Seemingly random, or at least unforeseen, misfortune happens all the time. Life sometimes feels like you’re just driving along and suddenly a flying turtle blasts through your stupid windshield. It can seem like that to me anyway. We never know when something naturally nettlesome or catastrophic might abruptly intercept our path.

There will always be cases where my pain feels more real than God. It is so stinking present with me. I hear its voice and feel its grip. And that presence can crowd out God’s and then it seems like he’s hiding. Otherwise, wouldn’t he make it stop? Wouldn’t he at least explain himself?

Do you ever reach the point where the entire system of government feels complicated and hopelessly corrupt? Where power, money and special interests seem to drive the machinery of politics? Does it ever feel useless?

I admit I can drift there. So, why do we do this thing anyway? Is it worth it?