The Cross
Why do I have such a hard time grasping the glory of the cross? It's almost as if maybe I have heard about it so often, and that it is such a regular theme of our culture (Christmas, Easter, etc) that it is rare that I recognize the abundance of freedom that Christ gifted me when I accepted Him as my Savior. Maybe if I allowed my mind open to the reality of His action there, I would have a much lighter load to carry on my own.
I was released of my sin. It was pardoned. And despite my iniquities, and my failure to live this life righteously, Christ willingly understood the depths of my heart, saw that it was not good, and stepped in order that I not pay the penalties that I deserve. I accepted this free gift a long time ago, but it is hard for me to daily meditate on this fact as a reality. Life often gets in the way of this realization. I have kids to raise, bills to pay, bosses to ablidge to, and I forget about my Savior. Despite the fact that I try my best to have a relationship with him, I don't think I realize what I have in Him.
So I was worried. Life happens so often, and I worry. I worry about my boys, my husband, my family. I worry about my job, my friends. I don't add up. I can't do things the way that I want. Circumstance happens, and I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I don't make the right choices. I fail. I fall. I mess things up. Again.....
Then reality sets in. Real reality. God's reality. Not the reality that we can see, but if we look, we know it's there. It's in the whispers of creation. He calls out to me. He gently reminds me of Him. Remember? You were chosen by ME. I Am. When I read about Moses, or Noah, or Paul, He reminds me. His writing is literally on the walls of history. His story is bigger than me. It is bigger. But He still died for me.
He dies again daily, for all of us. I get so caught up in the daily grind. I get so disappointed easily. I complain to Him, asking "why can't it work out for me right now? Why can't I get what I want, or why is this really hard?" When I am not measuring up to the standards I have set up for myself, He reminds me. Those standards and that hardship, and everything was literally already taken care of on the cross. It is something I need to constantly remind myself of; if I am in the right mind frame to get there. Where's "there"? To the place where I remember that Christ; the LIVING Son of God died for me.
He didn't just die for me so that I had a free ticket to Heaven. Which by the way...spending the undeserved eternity in the safety, peace, and I don't know what else in Heaven is quite enough, but there's so much more. He realized and knows that there are circumstances here on Earth NOW...little things like needing to clean the house, and getting the kids in the bath, and working to be a good teacher, and what job will my husband get, and where should I spend my money, and what trip should I go on, and gas prices, and relationships, and planning time that I don't have, and having energy at the end of the day for being who He created me to be, and the list can seriously go on...there are little things now that were already taken care of. They were taken care of on the Cross. I don't need to worry. Those were nailed up. They died. They already died, and I have freedom in Christ.
1 Peter 5:7 says "Cast all of your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." And you tell me, really? How do I do that? Lindsay, I have seen you in action, and you are seriously a basket case when circumstance happens. I would say I don't have it figured out. But He does. I am so thankful when I remember.
How great is that Cross? It was prophesied about, but no one could quite predict the reality that would hit this Earth the day that Christ was beaten and bruised and His hands and His feet were nailed there; laughed at. For me. Scoffed at. For me. Thrust in the side. Thorns on His head. All of the people but a few there were against Him. His friend Judas turned Him in. His friend Peter denied Him. He came to this Earth so perfect. A baby. A child of a human girl. He was God's only precious son. He loved sinners. He ate with prostitutes. He cried out and protected the lame. The childless. The children. He was a man's man. He stood up to the most pretentious, pious, wealthy religious leaders of the time and befriended fishermen and tax collectors. He changed history the 33 years that He walked this Earth. He claimed to be the Son of God; and he still is ridiculed, but no one can deny the fact that he changed history. He is the Savior who died for me. He created this world with his words. He was here before the Earth began. And He died there. So that I might not worry. So that today, as I write this my twinge of disbelief about the gas prices, and the economy, and how can I lesson plan effectively and what kind of friend am I, and you know the rest...so that I can have freedom in Him. At His cost. On His dime.
Does it give me freedom to not work harder? On the contrary, it challenges me to work my best for Him. Does it give me freedom to live my life indulgently, sinfully, unrighteously? No. It begs that I am accountable to His action there that day. But I am free. I am free and alive in Christ. I don't want to think of His death there as some random act of kindness, but I want to get up again. Every day. And put on the armor of God to battle for Him. I want to praise Him. I want to keep my focus on Him. And when I can't do it anymore, I realize that I don't. He does. He did. He did it. And I pray so hard that I would remember that when the light turns red and I am late. Or when my baby is crying because I am stressed. Or when life happens, that He is there. And He paid the price for the sin and frusterations and anxiety that is in my life.
I love Jesus. I mean it! I love Him. And I am so sorry that I take the Cross so lightly.
I was released of my sin. It was pardoned. And despite my iniquities, and my failure to live this life righteously, Christ willingly understood the depths of my heart, saw that it was not good, and stepped in order that I not pay the penalties that I deserve. I accepted this free gift a long time ago, but it is hard for me to daily meditate on this fact as a reality. Life often gets in the way of this realization. I have kids to raise, bills to pay, bosses to ablidge to, and I forget about my Savior. Despite the fact that I try my best to have a relationship with him, I don't think I realize what I have in Him.
So I was worried. Life happens so often, and I worry. I worry about my boys, my husband, my family. I worry about my job, my friends. I don't add up. I can't do things the way that I want. Circumstance happens, and I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I don't make the right choices. I fail. I fall. I mess things up. Again.....
Then reality sets in. Real reality. God's reality. Not the reality that we can see, but if we look, we know it's there. It's in the whispers of creation. He calls out to me. He gently reminds me of Him. Remember? You were chosen by ME. I Am. When I read about Moses, or Noah, or Paul, He reminds me. His writing is literally on the walls of history. His story is bigger than me. It is bigger. But He still died for me.
He dies again daily, for all of us. I get so caught up in the daily grind. I get so disappointed easily. I complain to Him, asking "why can't it work out for me right now? Why can't I get what I want, or why is this really hard?" When I am not measuring up to the standards I have set up for myself, He reminds me. Those standards and that hardship, and everything was literally already taken care of on the cross. It is something I need to constantly remind myself of; if I am in the right mind frame to get there. Where's "there"? To the place where I remember that Christ; the LIVING Son of God died for me.
He didn't just die for me so that I had a free ticket to Heaven. Which by the way...spending the undeserved eternity in the safety, peace, and I don't know what else in Heaven is quite enough, but there's so much more. He realized and knows that there are circumstances here on Earth NOW...little things like needing to clean the house, and getting the kids in the bath, and working to be a good teacher, and what job will my husband get, and where should I spend my money, and what trip should I go on, and gas prices, and relationships, and planning time that I don't have, and having energy at the end of the day for being who He created me to be, and the list can seriously go on...there are little things now that were already taken care of. They were taken care of on the Cross. I don't need to worry. Those were nailed up. They died. They already died, and I have freedom in Christ.
1 Peter 5:7 says "Cast all of your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." And you tell me, really? How do I do that? Lindsay, I have seen you in action, and you are seriously a basket case when circumstance happens. I would say I don't have it figured out. But He does. I am so thankful when I remember.
How great is that Cross? It was prophesied about, but no one could quite predict the reality that would hit this Earth the day that Christ was beaten and bruised and His hands and His feet were nailed there; laughed at. For me. Scoffed at. For me. Thrust in the side. Thorns on His head. All of the people but a few there were against Him. His friend Judas turned Him in. His friend Peter denied Him. He came to this Earth so perfect. A baby. A child of a human girl. He was God's only precious son. He loved sinners. He ate with prostitutes. He cried out and protected the lame. The childless. The children. He was a man's man. He stood up to the most pretentious, pious, wealthy religious leaders of the time and befriended fishermen and tax collectors. He changed history the 33 years that He walked this Earth. He claimed to be the Son of God; and he still is ridiculed, but no one can deny the fact that he changed history. He is the Savior who died for me. He created this world with his words. He was here before the Earth began. And He died there. So that I might not worry. So that today, as I write this my twinge of disbelief about the gas prices, and the economy, and how can I lesson plan effectively and what kind of friend am I, and you know the rest...so that I can have freedom in Him. At His cost. On His dime.
Does it give me freedom to not work harder? On the contrary, it challenges me to work my best for Him. Does it give me freedom to live my life indulgently, sinfully, unrighteously? No. It begs that I am accountable to His action there that day. But I am free. I am free and alive in Christ. I don't want to think of His death there as some random act of kindness, but I want to get up again. Every day. And put on the armor of God to battle for Him. I want to praise Him. I want to keep my focus on Him. And when I can't do it anymore, I realize that I don't. He does. He did. He did it. And I pray so hard that I would remember that when the light turns red and I am late. Or when my baby is crying because I am stressed. Or when life happens, that He is there. And He paid the price for the sin and frusterations and anxiety that is in my life.
I love Jesus. I mean it! I love Him. And I am so sorry that I take the Cross so lightly.
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