responding to the cross

Imagine this… you are crossing a busy street and somehow never see an oncoming car. A man you’ve never seen before rushes into the street, gently pushes you out of harms way, and takes the impact of the car in your place. By the time the ambulance comes, they find him taking his last breath in your arms. A few days later, a family member of the man comes by and gives you an envelope that reads “To be opened by the one I will die saving.”

You open the letter…

You don’t know me yet, but I want you to know that I know you. And my mission was to save you from death. If you are reading this note, it means I have accomplished what I came to do.

Knowing I did this for you, can I ask you to do something for me? Will you live the rest of your life differently? From a new perspective – so different that no single day of your life will ever be the same? I ask that you live for others, just as I did for you. Give yourself, just as I did for you.

Let my dying in your place ignite in you a life of love and selflessness.

I love you.

After reading that note, I assume that it would be very difficult to go back to life as "normal", the way it was before. 

When I think about the crucifixion of Jesus, what disturbs me is how much time I spend on earth oblivious to the fact that every moment of my life is intended to be used to honor and glorify him. Every day, not just occasionally... Every hour, not just a few hours a week... Every minute… Every breath... Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have new hope, new purpose, and new life. His sacrificial death in our place should encourage us to live for him.

To be sure, Jesus died to save us from God's punishment for our sin. But once we receive that gift of salvation and commit to follow him, he makes clear that our new lives have just the begun. Once we have come to know Jesus, we must passionately embrace the mindset that there is much work to be done! Jesus taught that we will fail at this if our faith in him is casual. Lukewarm. In fact, he said I’d rather you be hot or cold... anything but lukewarm.

Before Jesus died he said that in order to be called his disciples, we too must bear our own crosses. He commands us to go against the mainstream of society and take the narrow road. To follow Jesus means to follow his example, including the tough task of taking his love, truth and grace to the sinner, the needy, the poor, the unloved, and the hopeless. When we consider the cross, are we motivated to do these things?

When we see the cross we see a beaten and bloodied Christ, who could have come in the form of prestigious king, but chose not to. Our response to this should be overwhelming gratitude, as well as a humble and simple life.

To see the cross correctly is to be inspired to emulate the life of the one bearing it – dedicating our earthly lives to sharing the gospel, loving people, and sacrificing our own life. What if wealth, security, beauty, luxury, reward, prestige, and riches are all being stored up for us in heaven in direct correlation to our rejection of them on earth?

Our family's theme for Easter this year is not only to be thankful for the cross, but to consider our response to our thankfulness.  I fear that too often we come before the cross in humble thanks, and basically stop at that.  It’s almost as if we see the crucified Jesus and unintentionally say “thanks, sure am glad it was you and not me.” When the truth is…Jesus is calling us to join him, and in doing so receive greater blessings than we could ever imagine.

I hope this Good Friday & Resurrection Day will inspire you to live each day for the one who gave his life for you!