Are you repulsed by the thought of crucifixion? I am. But I also know that when I look into the eyes of Jesus, I see a cross! And He has said to me, “Anne, if you want to be My disciple, if you want to follow Me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me. Because if you want to save your life, you’re going to lose it in the end. If you choose to lose your life for Me, you will find it. For what good will it do you if you gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul?” (Matt. 16:24-26, paraphrased).
The cross that Jesus commands you and me to carry is the cross of submissive obedience to the will of God, even when His will includes suffering and hardship and things we don’t want to do. It is a willingness to totally, absolutely, irrevocably, and finally yield our lives to Him because we want what He wants more than what we want.
Jesus hung on the Cross for three hours, wracked with white-hot physical pain, tortured mentally and emotionally, crushed by the weight of guilt and shame and sin that was ours but became His. Suddenly, the birds stopped chirping, the vultures stopped circling, the breeze stopped blowing, and everything became deathly still as darkness-pitch-black darkness-descended. The cries that could be heard were no longer just coming from the victims on the crosses but from the bystanders as they cowered, then fled in panic. Even the hardened soldiers must have shuddered at the supernatural power and anger that permeated the atmosphere.
As terrified people looked up, searching the sky, there were no clouds to block the sun but it was nowhere to be seen! Where it had been was just blackness! Why? The eerie darkness that descended was not just nature feeling sorry for the Creator who was nailed to the altar of the Cross. It was the very judgment of God for your sins and mine.
Your sin has been judged at the Cross, so you can be saved from judgment. Are you saved?
In the Old Testament, the meal offering consisted of fine flour that was ground to powder by being placed in a round hole, where it was grated by a square pestle. The flour was then mixed with oil, which represented the Holy Spirit. The oil and flour, thoroughly mixed together and offered to God, was a picture of a totally consecrated life.
Sometimes God puts us with someone whom He uses to grate us. For instance, perhaps you are very generous with your money, and you are married to someone who is so careful, he or she is almost stingy. Or perhaps you are very quiet, and God has put you on a committee with someone who talks nonstop. Or worse, perhaps you are a nonstop talker and you are on a committee with another nonstop talker! Instead of avoiding those with whom we are incompatible or just tolerating them, Jesus commands you and me to love them. And as we obey His command, He will use that person to grind off our sharp, impatient, un-Christlike edges.
On what foundation are you building your life?
What feels right?
What works?
What everyone else is doing?
How stable is your foundation? When an unexpected crisis comes, will your life remain firm and steadfast, or will it all collapse?
The foundation of faith in Jesus Christ is one on which you and I can build our lives with confidence, knowing it will last, not only for our lifetimes but for all eternity as well.
As Jesus concluded His Sermon on the Mount, He said, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matt. 7:24-25, NIV). So . . . check your foundation!
The Eastern shepherd of Jesus’ day raised his sheep primarily in the Judean uplands. The countryside was rocky, hilly, and creased with deep crevices and ravines. Patches of grass were sparse. So the shepherd had to establish a personal relationship with each sheep, nurturing its love and trust in order to lead it to where the path was the smoothest, the grass was the greenest, the water was the cleanest, and the nights were the safest. The shepherd always led the sheep. He knew their names, and when he called them, they recognized his voice and, followed him. When he stopped, the sheep huddled closely around him, pressing against his legs. Their personal relationship with him was based on his voice, which they knew and trusted.
The Bible describes our relationship with Jesus as being similar to the relationship between the Eastern shepherd and his sheep – a relationship based on the sound of His voice. And make no mistake about it, His voice is God’s Word, the Holy Bible.
