Just for me!

Just for me!

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:3-4 KJV

As I read this extract, I am reminded of my past and conscious of all that Christ has done for me. I am reminded that it was because of me that God paid the very high price to guarantee salvation and redemption for me. I am reminded that I now stand in the present on the finished work of Christ on the cross and possess the fullness of the blessings that his death and life guarantees.

But, what did it cost Christ? Here was the creator of the world, the One who gives life and breath to all things, being treated shabbily. He came in human form and identified with us in our humanity. He left all the glory that was his and took up the lowly form of man, just to identify with us and take our place. The enormity of what he was to face is best understood by the events in the garden of Gethsemane when he prayed that if it were possible, the coming cup of suffering should pass over him. Rather than God granting that prayer, angels were sent to strengthen him. The rest, as we say, is history, but still affecting current affairs today, and is a determinant of eternity.

He was despised and treated shabbily by the same people he had come to save. He was rejected by his own kinsmen who knew his history and family tree and expected nothing from him; he hung on the tree alone, God himself turning his eyes away from him as he bore the sins of the whole world, yet we thought he was paying the price for his own misadventures and misdemeanors.

But we stand here today because Christ bowed his head to the Father's absolute will. We can raise our hands to God because Christ surrendered his hands to the nails. We can rejoice as we fellowship with other believers and as our feet rejoice to share the good news, all because Christ also surrendered his feet to the nails. Our communion is sweet because we share in the body and blood of Christ as symbolised by the Lord's Supper.

All the above are made possible because of the sacrifice of Christ. May his death and life not be in vain over our lives. May his life be our total experience.