Sunday, April 16, 2017

Crimson-Soaked Sacrifice and the Significance of Understanding

As Resurrection Day draws to a close, I have found myself pondering on the weightiness of Jesus's tremendous sacrifice. Even though this action in and of itself isn't uncommon for this day, I grew alarmed when a stunning reality collided with my whirling thoughts.

Has Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection become so flippantly casual in my Christian circles that we have forgotten the cost that serving the Lord will require?

From the first glance, the statement above could perhaps come across as cliche. However, allow me to use one of my own personal experiences as an example to illustrate my statement.

This time a year ago, I was not at the college of my dreams, but rather a community college that I both loved and hated. I loved it, because as one who enjoys academic pursuits, college was the natural choice for me. I also hated it, because the environment was so different than little homeschool graduate me had ever experienced. Not to say that I wasn't prepared to endure the 'real world' as many people told me, but I was incredibly surprised by the amount of severe anger and rejection of God's saving grace in those classrooms.

Because of this, I became incredibly self-conscious of my faith, and remained determined to keep my 'radical' beliefs to myself. For why would I dare stick my neck out on a chopping block when I knew a knife was hovering above, waiting for the opportune time to strike... Nope, not this girl. I truly loved God and my heart hurt for my classmates and professors who were so obviously lost, but did I speak up? No. I didn't pay much attention to this fact until my last semester, when my faith was tested via an extremely prideful atheist professor, one who spoke frequently about the things of God, but not in a way that I would ever agree.

Of course, of all the classes to make a 'mistake', I had decided to wear my cross necklace to the first day of class. Needless to say, it didn't go over well. Not only did I receive some heated verbal jabs, I was quite frankly mocked and ridiculed. All because of a small cross necklace.

Really? That's sure what I thought. I left that class feeling so dejected and ashamed that I hid the necklace in my backpack for the rest of the day, too embarrassed to bear the cross of Christ. But was I really embarrassed? Or had it simply been my wounded pride? God convicted my heart immediately after, and I began to feel so terrible for what I had done, that I almost grew sick to my stomach. Even though the action was seemingly small, the spiritual implications ran far deeper.

I was ashamed to bear the cross of Christ. I was scared of feeling rejected, and I did not want to be uncomfortable. Put simply, I was caring more about myself and my reputation then God. After some soul searching, and seeking God's forgiveness, I knew what I had to do. The next day I walked into that classroom, I wore my necklace for all to see, and instead of acting in a rebellious, disrespectful manner, I chose to be the best example I could be, and I never regretted that.

Friends, my illustration is a mere bump in the road compared to the great persecution many Christians in the world face. As an American, sometimes this reality can slip my mind; something I sincerely regret. While I am struggling with a decision as to wear a cross necklace or not, someone across the ocean is struggling with the reality of death if they were to be caught with a Bible, much less a little necklace.

In Christian circles, we tend to talk about God a lot, but we also converse a great deal about ourselves. Yes, Jesus is mentioned, because my oh my are we so grateful for His saving grace! However, sometimes what is not mentioned can be even more important then what is.

I find that sometimes I struggle truly grasping the seriousness of Jesus's sacrifice, and I doubt that I'm the only one. I've found that reading the account of Jesus's crucifixion only on one day sets a bad habit into practice. I find myself taking His shed blood for granted. Believe me, I understand why Resurrection Sunday is important, and it should be recognized. But I also understand that I can't just think about Jesus's sacrifice on one day, and promise to live better tomorrow.

We are not promised tomorrow, or any other length of time, for that matter. Only God knows the number of our days. Jesus didn't shed His blood for us to hide in our safe churches and congregate in the shadows, keeping the world in the dark by refusing to share the Word out of fear. If we cannot say that we will stand as soldiers of the cross when the times of darkness come, then it is time for us to rethink our actions. We cannot be mere summer soldiers who march bravely only when the sun shines bright above; but we must stand through the fire, no matter how hard or long the struggle may be.

We can no longer take Jesus's shed blood for granted. We can't train for only half a race. We must build our endurance and train for the battles ahead. It is when we fall on our knees in gratitude and worship at God's feet do we find breakthrough in areas that we long believed were sealed. Remember, giving up is never an option for a soldier of the cross, but victory is promised through Jesus's triumph over death. Death has been stripped of its sting, and we can look forward in hope, for we serve the one true King!  

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