I feel so full of Jesus right now... And that's kind of weird, because I had a stormy week that tossed me harder than I was prepared for, but it tossed me right to the feet of Jesus where I could do nothing but lay facedown and weep. Let me tell you- as I've spent the past few days here, I've learned so much. As painful as it's been, I'm already thankful for this.
Though Jesus has taught me much down here, there's one thing I want to focus on- Him. I want to focus on His feet... His bear, dirty, tired feet. His feet with a nail sticking in them. I want to focus on His torso and back... Ripped to absolute shreds by a lash covered in lead. His back that carried a cross that He would die on. I want to focus on the fact that He was beaten within an inch of death and still He kept going. I want to focus on His pain... On the fact that raw muscles and nerves stood out and blood dripped off His body. I want to focus on His head, which was bowed low. His head with thorns driving into it... Centimetres into His skin. I want to focus on the fact that all He had known for eternity was peace and glory and honour with God and now He was weakly dangling from a cross on a small earth yelling out "God! Dad! Where are you? Where did you go?" I want to focus on the fact that He hung in pure agony for so long... That He was in so much more pain than you could ever imagine or comprehend.
No... I'm not being graphic, here. I'm not being weird or twisted. Because this... This is the truth. This is real. This picture of Jesus- it's how it really was. It's how He really was. It's what He did. His blood was real, His agony was real. Do you get that, friend? That the One who created the universe died a horrible death because He loves you? Do you get that He was tortured for your freedom? Beaten for your mess ups? Spit on for your mistakes? That's Jesus. Bloody and sweaty and crying, for you. That's Jesus. King of everything, choosing to die for you. Do you get the magnitude of that? Newcomer- oh isn't it beautiful? Christian- don't you dare be unmoved by this. You see, this is the feet I've been sitting at and oh man, is it ever changing my heart. I'm sitting here crying about it. Aren't you? Don't you get the pain He was in? Would you just try to imagine it for a second? Does it move you? If not, it should. Please let it move you. Jesus is just too good for us to pass by. Please don't pass Him by.
Laying here looking up at Him, I cannot stay the same. If my eyes on are on Him, then they're not on my issues or a church building or gossip or boys or finances. They're just on Jesus. And when I really look at Him and see Him as He is- I realize He's enough. Oh, so much more than enough. If your eyes are on anything but Jesus, move them. Get up and flee to the cross. Christians- we've looked away, haven't we? We're so busy arguing between ourselves over little issues that we've taken our eyes off the only thing that matters... Jesus. Get over yourself, would you? Don't be so selfish and so hard and so judgemental. If we all look to the cross, we're going to be broken by a saviour... We're going to weep for the One that wept for us. And with our eyes on Him, our issues and debates won't seem so important. Let's lay aside the stuff that hinders- the arguments and petty cat fights- and look to Him. When we do, all the other stuff won't matter so much. Not in light of Jesus and what He's done.