Jarringly Real

 

10/29/2020

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He hath made Him to be sin for us…that we might be made the righteousness of God…”

Years ago, during a Sunday school class, the teacher gave a dramatized account of the crucifixion of Christ. I was in my mid-twenties, and it was the first time I had ever experienced this kind of thing before. I was taught about Jesus’ sacrifice in my youth, and I had seen all the movies that coved His birth, life, death, and resurrection, but I had never had anyone make it so jarringly real. This was a long time before The Passion of the Christ movie came out (which I have still not seen because of this initial experience). In a room full of adult Christians, this man tore the vail off of the “more gentle and sanitized” version of Christ’s sacrifice that I had known all my life, and it shook me to my core, forever changing me. The reaction I had was visceral and extreme. I was sobbing and shaking so badly that I could not stand. These sensations lasted for a long while after the class ended. This moment was the first time I was truly brought to the foot of the cross, looking up at my Savior, and trying to absorb the amount of love that it took to go through what He did. He loved me unto ridicule, torture, an unbearably painful and horrible death, and taking on my every sin. I would never experience the truth of the Atonement in the same way again. He suffered this for me.

Chambers writes, “We are acceptable with God not because we have obeyed, or because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and no other way.” There is nothing I can ever do by myself to become acceptable to God, other than confessing my sin and yielding to the power of Jesus’ sacrifice and saving grace. This is truly my most treasured gift, and I should not leave it on a shelf to collect dust like an old family heirloom.  I must instead carry it with me, holding onto it tightly with all of my might. It is a gift I should never be fearful of opening up and sharing with others. It is more precious than anything this world has to offer.

No matter what is happening in my life, or what my current circumstances, I will never lose this priceless gift.

 John 3:16 “For God so loved the word, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”