The Princess and Propitiation
Propitiation
I don’t think the word Propitiation is one I will be throwing around in general conversation. 1.) It’s a big word! 2.) It has lots of I-don’t-get-that-religious-stuff conotation. 3.) It’s not a word that just “flows” in a sentence. 4.) Deep down I’m scared I will use the word incorrectly!
Why the discussion of propitiation? I know it doesn’t seem to fit my normal random, have-fun attitude. I read the word today while I was reading my Bible (THE Word). As I read propitiation I thought to myself “Self, you should know what that word means. You’ve heard it before. You’ve even perhaps nodded your head as if you understood. So → what does it mean? Spit it out!” Sometimes I’m a little hard on mySelf, and this time around I felt mySelf stumped.
I read propitiation in Romans 3:25.
(v. 23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (v. 24) and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (v. 25) whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
Confusing isn’t it? My Bible gave me a cross-reference of 1 John 2:2 so I looked it up! I cross-referenced in a different Bible and it had a very helpful note on the very word I Was struggling to grasp. Fortuitous wouldn’t you say? The explanation given stated that the original Greek word was hard to translate into English. The Greek word could be translated propitiation or atoning sacrifice. Okay…
I literally looked up the word propitiation from the dictionary linked into my Bible app: “the action of propitiating or appeasing a god, spirit, or person” Hmm… appeasing a god. Right below that definition I found “pro·pi·tious adj. giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorable” Which I thought was helpful. This action of appeasing is favorable, and gives one a better chance of success.
I looked back at the verses in Romans 3 and I worked to simplify in my head what I was reading.
• I have sinned. Everyone has.
• This sin separates me from God.
• Because God is full of Grace, He gives me a gift (even though I have this sin problem)
• This gift justifies; the gift pays the debt I owe because of my sin problem. (like getting out of jail in Monopoly, you have to roll doubles, or pay the price demanded…no relationship with God without paying the bill)
• This gift of grace comes through Jesus and the blood He shed when He died on the Cross. (The payment, or the punishment, for sin is death. Someone had to die for my sin to be erased)
• Jesus’ blood that He willingly offered (sacrificed for me) appeases God.
In my little mind, this is how I See it.
Entry into the Royal Throne room is free, you just have to have a ticket. The tickets have all been paid for by Jesus. When I choose to believe that this ticket deal is for real I can just ask for one. I admit I am in need of a ticket, that all by myself, I am not fit to enter the Royal Throne room and hangout with God. I get a ticket, it’s a gift card really, and it is all gorgeous and sparkly – fit for a Princess! I take my new sparkly Princess gift card to see God. The card is swiped and it shows I don’t have to pay anything -the gift card paid the complete balance owed! I enter God’s presence with a happy skip and God is delighted to see me! My new “Princess Card” allows me complete access to the Royal Throne room, and God Himself, anytime, anywhere.
I think I like this word propitiation. Propitiation gives me access to the presence of God. Propitiation allows me to have a relationship with God Almighty, the King of Kings! I wonder if I can get the dictionary people to accept my definition for propitiation: a prepaid Sparkly Princess gift Card that gets one entry into the presence of the King of Kings.
