John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Religion. Faith. Spirituality. No matter what you choose to believe, the overall purpose should be to help you BE and DO Better! Not necessarily FEEL better or GET better things. I am sure most believers would not associate the cross or the redemption of Christ with a real-life love story, yet that is exactly what it is.
Do you know how many pages are in the bible? How many of those pages contain stories? Story telling has long been used to promote actions within the reader. Our stories, of every genre, fact or fiction... effect our human emotions. The story of the cross is no different. It should evoke emotions of sadness, shock, forgiveness and HOPE. In case you have never heard the story, allow me to offer a creative, but relatable version for your understanding.
Jesus was all that. He was a savior. A Messiah. (John 3:31)
He was considered a wonderful counselor- (Isaiah 9:6)
A man with many, unheard of gifts. (Revelation 22:12)
He was almost like a celebrity of sorts...
but not really.
He was homeless. (Luke 9:58)
He was rejected by his own family. (John 7:5)
And the masses were out to get HIM.
They lied on Him. They tested the REAL in HIM.
And even one of his perceived allies...
Set HIM UP!! (Matthew 27:3)
Then one day,
They came for HIM.
Spilled ALL HIS "tea", right for ALL to SEE.
Hung HIM. Laid HIM out to dry!
And He died.
But HE Rose Again.
Came BACK, BETTER than Ever! (Colossian 1:15)
small matters do not stop GIANTS.
The End.
As we remember the story of Jesus this week, let us remember the power of sacrifice and redemption. Then, try relating this to your "faith" AND real life matters of the heart . What sacrifices are you willing to make for love of your life? What are you willing to give up for your friend because after all, lovers and friends should be one of the same. When we expect love to reflect "perfection", things like money, status, looks, physicality, education, attire, get in the way. They become our measuring stick for love, but what we are really doing is being greedy! Much like the enemies of Christ, we too want it all! But why? More importantly, is this true love?
Here on earth, perfection is only an illusion. Nobody has it ALL together. Not U or ME. We all have flaws... It's OK to have standards. It's ok to have expectations. Sacrifice does not mean to relegate everything. But even on your BEST days you will fall short in some human compacity. And so will the ONE(s) you love. The Messiah knew this...he knew us humans would mess it all up in matters of faith and spirituality. Sometimes we really cannot help ourselves. HE too saw our imperfections...and he gave US the ultimate demonstration of HIS love for US! The story of the cross is very much a spiritual love story with action, violence, betrayal ... AND REDEMPTION! It has all the human elements of a real life love story, that we would pay money to see!! If we would not pay our money, we certainly would pay with our time by listening to someone tell us the story.
Yet, at the same time, in real life; we have no patience for challenges. We want ourselves And our partners to not miss a beat. We refuse to accept LESS.
PLEASE Consider this: LESS is exactly what sacrifice IS.
You gotta give something UP sometimes, in order to BE or DO BETTER in return. Falling does not always mean FAILing. Including in matters of the heart!
With Love
RDW
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