Do you get riled up when someone puts down a member of your family? Somehow, whether the family member in question is right or wrong, you feel an extreme loyalty and a desire to defend them. It is the same mentality that says, “Hey! I can say that because I’m his sister, but don’t you dare say it!” When people talk trash about the ones we love and care about, it can feel like they might as well have directed it at us. It’s personal. It hits close to home. Other times, the fire is more of a heart ache. Your heart just shatters thinking about what that unkind word or thoughtless deed meant to your sister, brother, aunt, father, niece, cousin etc.
I was on one of the several social networking sites available today, browsing the updates made to friends’ profiles and perusing the applications you can add to your page. One of the girls in my circle of friends had a “bumper sticker” application, which allows you to pick from an assortment of uploaded icons and post them on your profile. I also have this application, so when I noticed she had a “Jesus Fish” icon, I decided I would also like to have that symbol, as a testimony of my faith. However, after a few frustrating attempts, I could not seem to get the picture to show up on my profile. ARGH! So, I decided to go about it the long way and hunt for another image, thinking perhaps the issue was with that particular image file. I selected “religion” from the drop down list and commenced the search for another “Jesus Fish”. What I found instead was disheartening.
Amongst a tower of rubbish, were a handful of genuine icons that depicted one religion or another, with a few that endorsed Christianity. Others mocked the faith. In some of the more offensive, Jesus himself was the brunt of some crude jokes. My husband put it well: It is one thing to make fun of Christians, for we are only human, but God is above mocking. After seeing one too many appalling jabs at Jesus, I gave up the quest and sat there on the couch, trying to digest the series of emotions that were turning around inside me. When I was able to sort it out, I realized I was hurt. I was genuinely saddened by what I had witnessed. I felt like I would feel if someone had just run my husband’s name through the mud with no evidence to back up their slander.
Then it became real.
I truly love my Savior! I often express this in prayer but it seems it has become more lip service than sincerity. It also reminded me, especially in light of Easter, this is not the first time Jesus has been mocked. Several years ago, he was beaten, spat upon, whipped, sliced, broken, bruised and taunted. The Roman soldiers, “stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him”, then irreverently placed a crown of thorns upon Jesus’ head, “They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said.” (Matthew 27:28-29) He then had nails driven through his hands and feet so that He could be hung from a cross, for all to come and see, to jeer at and to scorn. Jesus gave His life that day for me, for you, and for the people who created the offensive images and text.
All my life I have had the point driven home, “Jesus loves you.” He loves me because He is love, “because the Bible tells me so”, because He laid down His life…the list goes on. But I do not believe I have heard as often what it means to love God. A few Sundays ago, there was a sermon about what is expected of us once we are saved. Of course, I could tell you what much of those things are, right? I mean, go to church, pray, worship, adhere to the Ten Commandments, read His Word…those are all good things; But why do we do these things? Is it “because the Bible tells me so”? Well, partially, but why should we want to obey His Word? We should want to obey Him, because we love Him. He showed the greatest example of love known to man. His, is an undying love of unfathomable proportions and all He asks for in return, is our love. With that love, comes the desire to obey and follow Him. It was quite the point he made! God wants us to love Him too. Well, I can honestly say I do love my Savior…and I do strive to demonstrate this not only in words, but in actions as well.
So, as Good Friday comes to a close and Easter Sunday approaches, I hope you consider the debt that was paid on that cross at Calvary for each and every one of us. His love is bigger than mine, it can love the lowliest of people, it is blind to race, colour, gender…We, too, are to love one another. It is a hard concept to put into practice sometimes but I am glad God died for the murders, the rapists, the liars, the adulterers, the thieves, the doubters, the hypocrites, the proud...because I used to be a sinner, now I’m a sinner saved by grace. And for this gift, I am thankful.
“Down the Via Dolorosa
I was on one of the several social networking sites available today, browsing the updates made to friends’ profiles and perusing the applications you can add to your page. One of the girls in my circle of friends had a “bumper sticker” application, which allows you to pick from an assortment of uploaded icons and post them on your profile. I also have this application, so when I noticed she had a “Jesus Fish” icon, I decided I would also like to have that symbol, as a testimony of my faith. However, after a few frustrating attempts, I could not seem to get the picture to show up on my profile. ARGH! So, I decided to go about it the long way and hunt for another image, thinking perhaps the issue was with that particular image file. I selected “religion” from the drop down list and commenced the search for another “Jesus Fish”. What I found instead was disheartening.
Amongst a tower of rubbish, were a handful of genuine icons that depicted one religion or another, with a few that endorsed Christianity. Others mocked the faith. In some of the more offensive, Jesus himself was the brunt of some crude jokes. My husband put it well: It is one thing to make fun of Christians, for we are only human, but God is above mocking. After seeing one too many appalling jabs at Jesus, I gave up the quest and sat there on the couch, trying to digest the series of emotions that were turning around inside me. When I was able to sort it out, I realized I was hurt. I was genuinely saddened by what I had witnessed. I felt like I would feel if someone had just run my husband’s name through the mud with no evidence to back up their slander.
Then it became real.
I truly love my Savior! I often express this in prayer but it seems it has become more lip service than sincerity. It also reminded me, especially in light of Easter, this is not the first time Jesus has been mocked. Several years ago, he was beaten, spat upon, whipped, sliced, broken, bruised and taunted. The Roman soldiers, “stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him”, then irreverently placed a crown of thorns upon Jesus’ head, “They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said.” (Matthew 27:28-29) He then had nails driven through his hands and feet so that He could be hung from a cross, for all to come and see, to jeer at and to scorn. Jesus gave His life that day for me, for you, and for the people who created the offensive images and text.
All my life I have had the point driven home, “Jesus loves you.” He loves me because He is love, “because the Bible tells me so”, because He laid down His life…the list goes on. But I do not believe I have heard as often what it means to love God. A few Sundays ago, there was a sermon about what is expected of us once we are saved. Of course, I could tell you what much of those things are, right? I mean, go to church, pray, worship, adhere to the Ten Commandments, read His Word…those are all good things; But why do we do these things? Is it “because the Bible tells me so”? Well, partially, but why should we want to obey His Word? We should want to obey Him, because we love Him. He showed the greatest example of love known to man. His, is an undying love of unfathomable proportions and all He asks for in return, is our love. With that love, comes the desire to obey and follow Him. It was quite the point he made! God wants us to love Him too. Well, I can honestly say I do love my Savior…and I do strive to demonstrate this not only in words, but in actions as well.
So, as Good Friday comes to a close and Easter Sunday approaches, I hope you consider the debt that was paid on that cross at Calvary for each and every one of us. His love is bigger than mine, it can love the lowliest of people, it is blind to race, colour, gender…We, too, are to love one another. It is a hard concept to put into practice sometimes but I am glad God died for the murders, the rapists, the liars, the adulterers, the thieves, the doubters, the hypocrites, the proud...because I used to be a sinner, now I’m a sinner saved by grace. And for this gift, I am thankful.
“Down the Via Dolorosa
In Jerusalem that day
The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street
But the crowd pressed in to see
The man condemned to die on calvary
His was bleeding from a beating
The were stripes upon his back
And he wore a crown of thorns upon his head
And he bore with every step
The scorn of those who cried out for his death
Down the Via Dolorosa
Called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah
Christ the king
But he chose to walk that road out of his love
For you and me
Down the Via Dolorosa all the way
To Calvary”
(excerpt from Via Dolorosa sung by Sandi Patty)
(excerpt from Via Dolorosa sung by Sandi Patty)
* I wrote/published this on my former blog on March 22nd of this year, but I thought it was a good point to make again.
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