There is a song where the words, “The Wonders of His Love” are sung (it’s joy to the world) and there are times where I wonder if we’ve lost touch with that exact phrase.
I missed a day in my daily so I’m back to pick up the pieces. I was skimming through the New Testament and ran across the headline in Luke that simply reads, “Jesus’ Death”. I tried to move on through the pages, flipping them flippantly but that phrase kept sticking in my head.
The Death of Jesus is a huge part of the New Testament (along with his miracle filled birth) and that moment signifies the separation being removed (I blogged about that a little previously) for good. When you read the accounts of His Death there is some things lost in the translation of words to brain.
Which is why I have a overactive and overachieving imagination.
Jesus died for our sins. That’s elementary Dear Watson. The part that I like to focus on is that moment when His Father leaves him all alone on that brutal wooden cross with nothing but the tortured crown and sack cloth to protect him against whatever is coming. All sin was piled on Jesus at that time. Past, present and future sandbagged him like three NFL rushing guards on steroids. I can’t even begin to imagine how to translate that pain into words but I know I would come up very short if I tried.
God’s presence had given his Son the protection and power he needed during his time on Earth. It allowed him to do things only God could. But he was also fully human and so the pain he felt throughout the moments of his trial and tribulation leading to Golgotha was not completely masked. He felt every whip, stab and shove. It is in that path to the cross where our Saviour is most remarkable. Every moment, every second he is suffering for them, us and everyone. As he’s nailed to the cross that pain is our sin, our darkness. Our failures. Our stubborn hearts.
As he was raised above the other two the story goes on until the moment when all hell (no pun intended) breaks loose. Jesus breaths his last, the curtain is torn top to bottom and the new age of Faith has begun. And nobody even knows it yet.
It is these moments I turn to when I come back to sit with God after the day has literally had its way with me. I read of His struggles, of his suffering. And I realize all these things I did today…only the good things that were done in His name are what made the difference in my walk with Him. Staying close and focused on God is a hard task and I’m still struggling with it. The beauty of it is that He’s right there with me, cheering me on.
Struggling with and about God is part of humanity. I believe that our relationship with God is like any married couple (or worse if you can imagine that!). We fight, we make up, we love, we hate, we talk, we win, we lose. Such is the relationship of man and God. As long as we keep on pushing and walking towards and with Him every step of the way we’ll grow closer to Him.
Such is the struggle of humanity. So in my daily moments of “UGH!”, I remember my saviour and his moments on the cross and in the streets. Those moments where he suffered for me. And how I need to remember his suffering gave me freedom.
