Don't Turn Away

About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" - which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)

There are few words that break my heart the way these do.  Much of the time, when I think about Jesus, when I talk to Him, I see Him as my strong protector, my teacher, my friend.  He is wise and wonderful, loving and forgiving.  To consider the anguish He endured on my behalf is heart-wrenching, intolerable.  I don't want to picture Him grieved to the point of sweating blood.  I don't want to imagine the sound of His voice asking for mercy, pleading for His daddy.  Not Him.  Not this.

But consider it I must.  Without the anguish of Gethsemane and Golgotha, the joy of the empty tomb is meaningless.  And so I turn toward what every ounce of my being wants to run from.

In his book, The Case for the Real Jesus, author Lee Strobel speaks to the extreme brutality of Roman scourging and crucifixion:  "Witnesses in the ancient world reported victims being so severely whipped that their intestines and veins were laid bare.  Tacitus referred to it as 'the extreme penalty.'  Cicero called it 'cruel and disgusting' - so horrendous that he said 'the very word cross should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen but from his thoughts, his eyes, and his ears.'"  He continues, "...death by crucifixion was basically a slow and agonizing demise by asphyxiation, because of the difficulty in breathing created by the victim's position on the cross."

Many people were beaten senseless and died by crucifixion in ancient Rome.  Not only was it a potent punishment, but it was also a potent deterrent for defying the laws and powers-that-be of the time.  What could convince someone to obey more than seeing mangled, blood-soaked bodies gasping for air for hours preceding their death?

Jesus experienced that.  All of it.  But not just that.  Unlike everyone else who has ever been crucified, Jesus suffered something wholly unique and beyond the comprehension of any of us - the full measure of God's wrath for the sinfulness and wickedness of humanity, of which I am a contributor.  Not only did Jesus experience the fullness of the wrath of God - His own father - but God left Him there in the midst of it.  Jesus was sent to earth to suffer unimaginable pain and die on a cross, separated from His father.  No mercy.  No sympathy.  No rescue.

Why would God do such a thing, allow such a thing, not intervene to stop such a thing? 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).  God so loved you, He so loved me, that much.  Somehow, some way, God cares for us so much that He sent His Son to die for us.  Somehow, some way, Jesus cares for us so much that He obediently fulfilled the horror of His destiny.

The very least I can do is not turn away.

 



Planting the Seeds

"Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever.  They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor." (Isaiah 60:21)

We have gathered the ashes, we have turned the soil, and we have fed the soil.  It is now time to plant the bulbs and seedlings that will become our garden.  There are so many flowering plants and shrubs in this world that are so beautiful, they make my heart ache and sing at the same time.  Isn't Creation amazing?  I don't know the names of most of those plants, but what I do know is that most of them do not grow in the soil of Southwest Ohio.  I've learned over the years that if I want to enjoy beautiful, thriving plants around my house, I must plant what is able to grow (not what I wish could grow).

The same is true for the garden of our souls.  We were created with talents and gifts that God instilled in us on purpose.  Each of us possesses a unique mixture of such talents and gifts, and our job is to nurture and use these for His glory.  I would love to be able to paint breathtaking pictures or compose music on a whim, but those are talents I simply don't possess.  Others do, and I enjoy their creations immensely.  The same goes for all of us - we each have our own talents, which if used for the glory of God, enrich the lives of those around us.

Do you believe that you possess no useful talents at all, or that the talents you have aren't good enough to pursue?  I hope not - these are lies sowed by satan - don't believe them.  You are a shoot God has planted for the display of His splendor.  Notice that the verse does not say you are an award-winning, fully-blooming, heavenly-scented plant.  You are a shoot - a bud, a seedling of God's masterful hand.  Your unique talents and gifts are meant to bloom thoughtfully, carefully, and deliberately in His time and for His splendor.

The soil of faith in Christ is the richest soil in which to nurture who God wants you to become.  Don't try to plant someone else's seeds in that soil, trapped in the lie that another's talents are more desirable or meaningful than your own.  Instead, plant the seeds God has given you to grow - and watch in wonder as they develop into the masterpiece He has given us in you.

What is a talent you appreciate in a brother or sister in Christ whom you know?  What is a talent that you possess for the display of His splendor?  Please share!