Good
Morning All,
Isaiah 53:7; “He was
oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb
that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before
its shearers is silent, so he opened
not his mouth.”
I remember watching an old
gangster movie. There was a turf war
between three rival fang families.
During the middle of this gang war, one of the members of one of the
families turned over and became a member of a different family gang. The first family met and decided that they
could not allow this to happen, so they decided to have the man killed. If they let one man defect, then who knows
how many more would try. They could not
allow this, so they decided to make an example of the defector. “It was nothing personal” the head of the
gang even kind of liked him but, “this was business.”
“Nothing personal, just
business”; how often have we heard or used that phrase in our conversations? It is designed to put distance between the
people involved. If we can distance our
self from the consequences of our actions, it makes it easier to continue in a
guilt free manner. After all, what we do
for the sake of business is just that; it is business, it is never personal
even if that business is murdering a former friend. We may not go to that extreme, but we may not
think twice about sabotaging a co-worker’s reputation or undermining a
neighbor’s chance at expanding his business.
We like to have things as
business and not personal but when it comes to the death of Jesus, it is
extremely personal. He was betrayed with
a kiss on the cheek, up close and personal.
He was abandoned by his closest and best friends at the time of his
greatest need. He was beaten with fists
and rods and with a whip; his attackers were close enough that his blood
splattered on them in an up close and personal manner. The nails were driven in his hands by someone
else’s hands. It was all personal;
driven by anger, jealousy, and hatred.
It was personal; Jesus’ death
was very personal. It occurred because
Jesus personally loves you. He loves you
enough to have taken up the odious task of dying for you. He loves you enough to have taken the
greatest step anyone can take; he died for you.
He died for the sins which you committed that have taken you away from
God’s perfect garden. By his death, he
has restored you to the rightful place in his kingdom. By his death, he personally saved you. It was not business or an obligation; it was
a greater love than we can ever fathom.
Gracious Father, your
mercies are new to us every day. Because
of your great love for me, because you personally chose me to be your child,
you sent Jesus to die for me and to bring me salvation. In your grace, you give me hope. Keep me strong in my faith that I may ever
hold fast to you. Keep me strong in my
allegiance to you that I may ever serve you in your kingdom everlasting. In the precious name of Jesus our risen
Savior we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.