Paying for Damages — An Illustration of Atonement

The Uber driver replied: “I don’t recall doing any wrong before. Like wrong, wrong!” ¹

That’s quite impressive I replied. “So have you ever made a face at someone, maybe an angry face, a disapproval face, a face to show disgust or even a mocking face?”

“Well,” he replied, “who can deny ever making faces at others.”

“Do you think that face of disgust made the person happy?”

“I don’t think so.” He replied.

“Let’s assume that the person got hurt so when he got home, agitated by the incident, spoke unkindly to his wife, which resulted in a quarrel. As one of their children approached to ask a question, she shut her up and the child broke down crying. Is it fair to assume you are the source of the chain of bad actions that befell this family?”

“Ma, I will agree that to some extent I did, but you know other factors may have also triggered his actions toward his wife.”

“Agree. You are a great thinker. Let’s say you would like to say sorry to this man you made a face at, since you agree that you also contributed to the unkind treatment his wife suffered at his hands. How would you like to go about it.”

“Ma, I will go to his house and apologise.”

“You are a very reasonable man. But would the apology repair the damage to the being of the man?

“What do you mean Ma?”

“Wrongs are like knives we use on others which damage their beings: soul and spirit. They create wounds sometimes on their bodies but most often on their souls and spirits. Do you have access to the soul of another person? Do you have the skill and the resources to repair someone’s soul or spirit?”

“Ma, I won’t know how to go about it? Maybe I can comfort the person.”

“Yes, indeed, we can comfort people we hurt by making amends. We can also employ psychological techniques to improve their moods or behaviour, but does it genuinely repair the wound on the person’s soul?

“Ma, you are very interesting. Who has seen the soul or the wounds on the soul of another person. I haven’t even seen my own soul! I wish I could see my own soul physically.”

“That will be interesting. But you do agree that no one has true access to mend the being of another person, that is, the soul of another?”

“I will have to agree, Ma.”

“I hope it never happens to you. But let’s say that you drive this nice Uber car of yours into the goods of a Roadside Seller. Who determines how much you owe for damages?”

“The seller.”

“Why?’

“Because she is the owner.”

“Perfect. So, who owns the man and his being you damaged?”

“Ma, maybe his wife.”

“Let me rephrase the question. What makes someone an owner? Who owns people? You remember saying that no one has true access to the soul of anyone. But there is someone who has access to the soul of everyone because he created every soul, and he knitted each of them together thoughtfully and purposefully.² Who do you think that person is?”

“God, of course.”

“So, you will agree with me that the true and organic understanding of owner is someone who creates something using his own resources, not existing resources, or borrowed resources, right.” ³

“Ma, you are such a good teacher.”

“I am flattered. Oops I have reached my destination.” I stepped out of the Uber. He got out of his Uber, too. “Ma, this conversation is so interesting. Let’s finish it. I will remain here, parked right here at your destination and listen to the rest of what you have to say. If you don’t mind, I will be eating my lunch while I listen.”

“That should not be a problem at all. Go ahead and enjoy your lunch.”

“Let me buy some water first, Ma.”

“That’s my niece’s pastry shop. Let me get you some water for free.”

“Thank you very much Ma. You are very kind.”

“Your lunch smells good.”

“Thank you, Ma. I prepared it myself.”

“Wonderful. More of such husbands!”

“Thank you, Ma.”

“As I was saying, because God made every one of us (body, soul and spirit),⁴ with his own original design and resources, he is the real owner of each person in the world, past, present and future. This God who made every one of us has a name. His name is Yahweh. So, who do you think damages should be paid to when we damage another person by unkind actions or words.”

“Yahweh.”

“You got the name right. Wonderful. You agree that since Yahweh is the owner of the man you damaged, you will need to ask him to help you determine the appropriate compensation and punitive measures?

“How am I going to do that, Ma? I have not seen God before. Sorry, Yahweh!” He mooted a laugh.

“You have an interesting way of communicating your answers to questions that baffle you.”

His eyes lit up and he smiled with expectancy.

“Indeed, no one has seen Yahweh in his essence, but he has provided a way for us to communicate with him. Yahweh has given us an answer to your question through the writings of his prophets and apostles found in the Bible. Yahweh has placed the worth of his Son, Jesus Christ, as the compensation required to repair every damaged person.”⁵

“Ma, this is getting deep. How can anyone know?

“The Bible tells us what Jesus is worth. He is worth what God the Father is worth! ⁶ ⁷ He is the source of life. He is the One who created everything and everything from the past, present and future is his.⁸ Can you measure that? And can you afford it?”

“Hmmm. Ma, you are saying that God the Father is willing to use His Son’s life to repair every damaged person?”

“Because no one else can afford it! No one knows how much Yahweh invested in creating each person, and since he is the only one who knows, he is the only One qualified to determine damages to be paid to repair each person.”⁹

“Ma, it is starting to make a lot of sense to me. So how does God the Father use the worth of His Son to pay for the damages so each damaged person can be repaired.”

‘His Son’s worth is the life he has in himself.¹⁰ Jesus described this life in him as eternal life: life that is rich in holiness and love and never ends!¹¹ Jesus, his Son, had to give his life to pay for the damages.¹² When the life of Jesus was poured out on the Cross when he died, it created an eternal bank of living blood where anyone whose being (soul and spirit) has been damaged can go and appropriate it for repairs.”¹³ ¹⁴

“I get it now Ma. So, there is a way for me to pay for damages for wrong things I have done to myself and others to the Owner of me and them.”

“Correct. So, tell me, how are you going to pay for the damages.”

“I am not sure Ma. You said Jesus’ death on the Cross created an eternal bank of living blood where everyone can go and appropriate it to be repaired. But I don’t know where the blood bank is.”

“The Bible shows us how to access this eternal blood bank. The book of Romans in the Bible, chapter 10, verse 9 shows us how to access this eternal blood bank. It states that you must believe that Jesus died for your sins and that he was raised to life, a proof that he overcame sin.”

“That simple.”

“Yes, that simple.”

“But Ma, does it mean saying sorry, making amends or paying for damages to wronged parties are not needed anymore?”

“Of course saying sorry, making amends, or paying for damages are not obsolete. To make life livable in this world, God himself allows for temporary measures where those responsible pay for damages due to an accident, negligence, or a deliberate act.¹⁵ But damages paid do not repair the ‘being’ of the person. It may give the person some temporary satisfaction that justice has been served. For example, losing a child to a drunk driver is a deeply traumatic experience, even though damages may be paid. However, the damages paid will not bring the child back or repair the wound and pain the incident created. Only God can repair people. Only God can repair their being (soul and spirit). Only God can determine what each person is worth, and damages due.

“Ma, everyone in this country must learn about this truth. The smallest of sins damages the being of people in ways we can never repair. Damages can only be paid to owners of property and since Yahweh is the owner of each person in the world, He is the only One to whom damages are owed. I understand. It is foolish to pay damages to fetish priests, juju men, medicine men, shamans, ancestral spirits, diviners, or idols, spirits behind astrology, the spirit of the universe people invoke, and even powerful men and women because none of them are the owners of people.”

“Correct for 100%. It is extortion, daylight robbery. How could these entities demand sacrifices from you for wrongs you have done to others. They did not make you or any other person in the world and do not possess the resources required to create you. They are not the owners of you! And they cannot repair you because they don’t know how and they don’t know what you are worth!¹⁶ They themselves were created by Yahweh using his own design and resources.”

“O No. So, we have been tricked by these evil entities.”

“Yes. They are extorting from people rights and honor they do not deserve. Yahweh owns them too. These evil spirits were once angels in heaven who rebelled and were thrown down to earth.¹⁷ Yahweh is the owner of them all and on Judgment Day he will cast all of them into the Lake of Fire along with humans who sided with them.¹⁸ Let’s take the example of the Roadside Seller. Imagine that after you have wrecked her goods, instead of paying her for damages, you rather pay it to an onlooker standing by! That will be totally absurd and abnormal. But that is what most people do?”

“Ma, you are so right. It will be so abnormal.”

“It sure is.”

“Ma, I am so happy you booked my Uber for your ride today. I have learned a lot today. I would like you to pray for me, Ma.”

“That is a wonderful request and a good way to end our conversation. Let’s pray.”

Notes

1. Romans 3:23 — “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” )NIV)

2. Genesis 1:27 — “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (NIV)

3. 1 Chronicles 29:11: “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. All dominion is yours, and you have established it to bring it to glory.”

4. Ezekiel 18:4 — “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (KJV)

5. Revelation 13:8 — “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast — all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” (NIV)

6. John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (NIV)

7. John 14:9: “Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (NIV)

8. Colossians 1:15–20: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (NIV)

9. Psalm 139:13–18: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand — when I awake, I am still with you.

10. John 1:4&5&29: In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

11. 1 John 4:9 — “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”

12. 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 — “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (NIV)

13. 1 John 1:7–9 — “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

14. Hebrews 9:14 — “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

15. Leviticus 6:4–5 — “If he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.” (ESV)

16. Jeremiah 11:12 — “Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble.” (ESV)

17. Revelation 12:7–9 — “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”(NIV)

18. Matthew 25:41 — “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (NIV)