Perhaps I will never understand completely how horrible His death really was. I can imagine, of course; I can try to put myself in His place, but that's laughable in its impossibility. How a man, righteous or not, could tolerate the pain and degradation He endured before He was nailed to the cross is beyond belief. But to endure all that knowing that once He reached Golgotha, He would be nailed--not positioned with soft fabric, not even tied with ropes, but nailed--to the cross and left to hang in the sun for however long it took Him to die--well, that defies comprehension. And He was God. He was the Creator of all that was, is, and ever will be. He is the Alpha and the Omega. And yet, he died such a lowly death for us.
It is now just after 3:00 p.m. My Lord has died upon the cross for me. He has taken my sin with Him and offered me His forgiveness and love and guidance and friendship and salvation and everlasting life with Him after my own death, which no matter how gruesome it may be, could never be as bad as His.
I often wonder how we humans would react if we were told we could have everlasting life in Heaven for only one million dollars per soul? You can bet there'd be a lot of panic, murder, thievery, embezzlement and other cutthroat activities in our scramble to secure a spot for our everlasting soul and those of our loved ones. What if God required His children to be crucified on the cross, just as His Son was, for the privilege of living with Him for all eternity? How many takers would there be to die in such a gruesome manner to secure your soul's forgiveness and an eternity with our Heavenly Father?
Luckily, none of us have to endure either of those scenarios, because in His divine love for us, God has offered salvation (forgiveness of our sins and an eternity with Him) to all of us for... absolutely nothing. He doesn't want us to equate money or other earthly goods with the Best of the best. He doesn't want us to die in our sins, so he offered His Son to die in our stead. Could you do that? Could you watch your son die so horribly for the sins of others? I don't know about you, but I couldn't. No way. But God did. And I'm sure it hurt Him immeasurably more than it would hurt us to see our sons hanging on that cross, bleeding, scourged, thirsty, broken, mocked. Can you imagine a hurt that great?
So if we admit our sins, recognize Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and ask for forgiveness, He writes our names in the Book of Life! No strings attached. I don't know about you, but that's one book I want my name in! I could reach the top of the bestseller list everyday for the rest of my life and it wouldn't mean one iota as much as having my name among the other saved souls in this world.
Rejoice, for on the third day, He will rise! He has defeated death. He has taken our sin. He has invited us into His family. He has offered us an eternity in His Presence. Are you one of His children?
Until the next time...
