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Is there any way to escape punishment and be brought back into God's favour?
Yes, to satisfy his justice, God himself, out of mere mercy, reconciles us to himself and delivers us from sin and from the punishment for sin, by a Redeemer. (Isaiah 53:10-11) (from here)

I first heard this as a child and with a child's acceptance of all things taught, it seemed natural to me. Lord, I find it hard to marvel at what you did, difficult to see how strange and utterly unlikely. Help me see this, Lord. It is not so rare to have a sense of God or to fear a final accounting - but a God of love, of compassion and mercy, a God who would humble himself and be belittled, a God who would deign to suffer injustice at the hands of his creation? That is rare, rare stuff. We would never have imagined a god like you, who is wholly just and loving and who answers that paradox by giving of himself. Never.

Without the cross we would be completely, terribly lost, and it would be better not to think on what comes after death. With it we have the possibility of being reconciled and now we are yours, unbreakably safe, unfathomably beloved.

Help me marvel at who you are and what you have done, and help others see this astonishing beauty. Thank you, Lord. You are lovely.