It's amazing to me how busy I can get with nothing. Life just gets like that. After a while I realize that my hours floated away on a breeze of to-do lists and Google searches.
But every now and again I'm reminded of why I'm really here. Yesterday, I watched a documentary about the Shroud of Turin, which many experts and religious leaders believe to be the shroud Christ was buried in. No one knows for certain if it really is what they think it is. But the shroud is marked with human features and blood, and what it exposes is horrifying.
The traces of blood themselves indicate that the man who once lay in that shroud was beaten so severely that nearly his entire body was covered in wounds. His head had been lacerated, his hands and feet pierced and his side gashed open.
The man who once lay in that shroud was brutalized.
So whether or not it was Christ who was laid to rest in that cloth, it stands to reason that we can all learn something from the evidence gathered from it. Because that is exactly what happened to Christ. "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).
For us, He was betrayed, humiliated, beaten, bruised, bloodied, stabbed and nailed to a cross to die an agonizing death. All so that we never have to pay the ultimate price for our sin. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
All He asks in return is that we believe and dedicate our lives to Him.
So I remind myself... why am I here? I'm here to glorify the Lord with my life. To live in such a way that my obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit testifies to the unfailing love with which He gave His life.
Why do I ever think my to-do lists can top that?
A Hello...and A Goodbye...
8 years ago
4 comments:
Jesus' To-Do List:
1) Spend time with Dad
2) Die to self
3) Wake up disciples
4) More time with Dad
5) Submit to Dad's plan
6) Wake up disciples
7) Face betrayal, arrest, kangaroo court,beatings, mocking, scourging, denial and abandonment by disciples, crucifixion
8) Forgive those who participate in number 7
9) Die for the sins of the world
10) Accomplish the Father's will for human race
11) Defeat death
12) Rise again
13) Enjoy surprising followers
14) Share mission with followers
15) Spend eternity with Dad and welcoming followers home
All in a day's work for the Savior. It's incredibly humbling! I read all of the gospel's accounts of His death and resurrection this morning, and it just makes everything else pale in comparison. We belong to an amazing God!
Thank you for writing books that are clean, uplifting, real, and have that golden thread of faith woven through the pages.
And may I just say, the Atonement of Jesus Christ blesses my life daily. His selfless gift helps me to repent, to heal, to change, to become. Abraham Lincoln said, "All I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother." My excellent mother not-withstanding, All I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my Savior.
Thank you for the encouragement! I've made a commitment to write books that glorify the Lord, and I'm grateful that means something to you, as well. Keep on reading!! :)
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