Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Cross (as in the Cross of Christ) (08/17/06)
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TITLE: For God so loved... | Previous Challenge Entry
By Chad Lower
08/18/06 -
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My favorite holiday is Easter.
The fact that Jesus was born means little to me. After all, so was I. Being born does not, in itself, make Him or me special.
When Jesus was about my age, He died. Again, not all that amazing. I, too, plan on dying someday. The anniversary of the day He died, we now call Good Friday. I often wonder how murdering an innocent man could ever be called good.
Three days later, He conquered death and rose from the dead. For this feat, I cannot claim to have done it, nor do I ever envision myself being able to do it.
But others have.
Specifically, we can read in the gospels how just a few years before, a man named Lazarus died and rose again. If you want to argue points, Lazarus was dead for four days, while Jesus only three, so I suppose that makes Lazarus' resurrection more impressive.
No, the reason Easter is my favorite holiday is not about His death, nor His resurrection. It is because of the reason He went to Calvary and the few hours before He hung upon that wooden cross.
Why did He go to Calvary? In short, to die for my sins. Mine. In John 3:16, the verse starts, "For God so loved the world...." Whenever I get a new Bible, I always grab my black pen and head for this verse. You see, the word that gets translated, "world," is the Greek word "cosmos." Every Bible published in the English language translates the Greek word, "cosmos," to, "world," yet the meaning is much bigger than that. With my black pen, I cross out the word, "world," in my Bible. Above it, I write in my name. So now, it more correctly reads, "For God so loved Chad...."
I do this not to be blasphemous. Rather, I understand that if I were the only person (since his death up to the present and beyond) who would accept His free gift of salvation, he still would have died. Billions upon billions of people would be going to hell, but this one person, Chad, who wouldn't be born for another 2000 years, is important enough for Him to give up His life so that Chad might be spared from hell.
So He would sacrifice His life because Chad is that important to Him. My wife is important to me. My children, too. If I knew that their lives were in trouble, and that if I died, their lives would be spared, I would gladly sacrifice my life...
...knowing that my death will be quick and (relatively) painless.
Which brings us to a few hours before His death. Thanks to a recent blockbuster movie, I don't have to go into much detail about those few hours—except to say that the movie was watered down. A lot.
Fortunately for us, dying by crucifixion was a common form of punishment by the Romans in that time so we have other evidence besides the scriptures to know what tortures He endured. First, He was scourged with a flagrum, probably similar to the one He made (John 2:15) to chase the money changers out of the temple during an earlier Passover at the start of His ministry. Each stroke across His back would rip His skin off exposing the muscles of the back to take the next blow. God knows how long they beat him. God knows, and I'm glad I don't.
I do know that after they finished beating Him, they took Him to the hill of the skull. They stripped Him naked to humiliate Him. Then they nailed Him to the cross.
For six hours, He was on that cross. I try to imagine His exposed back muscles resting on the rough wood. Pushing down with His legs to stand so He could breathe. But with every push, He felt the pain of the nail pressing on the nerves in His feet. With every push, He would rub His already raw back on that rough wood-probably embedding splinters directly into His muscle. Six hours of excruciating pain. Six hours of torture on the cross. Six hours for me.
Six hours.
For you.
If you want, you can borrow my black pen.
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Personalizing Scripture is a terrific idea and it was good to read a story that encouraged people to do so! Maybe more people will get our their black pens...:o) Good job.
Great chuckle at the end there for cosmic relief...thanks!