For Me!

For Me!

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). Matthew 27:46 NIV

The Inspiration:

Let's paint a picture of the background to the verse above. Picture Jesus, the son of God in heaven. He has authority, because He is part of the Trinity. He has glory, splendour and majesty. The host of heaven know, recognize and worship Him as God. This is He of whom prophets, priests and kings of old spoke about in prophesy, certain that this was a God who deserved worship, awe and praise. Then, picture that same Jesus, offering Himself to pay the sacrifice for the sin of the whole world. This is sin for which He knew nothing about; He didn't commit sin, and no evil was found in Him. In his Godly state, no man could touch him, let alone arrest, torture and then crucify Him. He had to leave all the glory and splendour in heaven, and He chose to come to the earth in the form and likeness of the ones He wanted to save. He could have found a way to still help man, but He chose the path of pain and shame, all because of me.

The Contention:

The picture in today's verse is quite hard and heartbreaking. The son of God went to the cross in line with the will of His Father, to die for the sin of the whole world, yet when it mattered most, His Father seemingly abandoned Him. God knew a day like this was coming, as He knows all things, yet when the day came, God's nature shone through, as it has always been. His nature, as He has always shown to man all through creation, is that He hates sin. He loves the sinner, but He hates the sin. It was love that drew this plan and brought it down to man, yet love was not enough to excuse the sin. It did not matter that the son of God was the one on the cross, bearing the sin of the whole world. At this time, God was dealing with sin, and nothing would make Him change his nature; not even this one time. If God would not spare His own son, who then can toy with sin and think s/he can get away with it? 

The Conclusion:

That is the message for this season. God paid such a high price for sin that it will be criminal and negligent to ignore this price and continue in the path of sin. If I do not take advantage of the gift that has been given, and the life that this gift has secured, who else can help me? If after all that Jesus had done, and all He is now offering me for free, I still reject Him, then, I cannot be helped. Just like Jesus cried on the cross when His father looked away from Him, so would the Father look away from anyone who rejects His son to the end of life. The time to review and respond to the gift of God is now; no one knows what tomorrow holds. God has always made clear what his position on sin is; he leaves no one in doubt where he stands. Now I know what He has done, and what I have been given; what would I do with this knowledge? God's time of favour is here.