I always feel a stirring in my heart during Holy Week. The weight of a heavy shadow hovers over me, as I reflect on the torturing assault Christ endured on that fateful day. I find myself submerged in the account of Christ’s agonizing approach to the cross…
Good Friday is here.
Luke 23:33-43 ESV
And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” …
John 19:30 ESV
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Christ’s sacrifice on the cross brings believers to their knees, bowing their heads in mourning while offering up their hearts for His Merciful cleansing. God’s greatest gift to His children, the sacrifice of His beloved Son.
Christ died for me.
For you.
For every single human being.
If there’s one thing I believe more than anything about Jesus, it’s this:
He loves and longs for every last one of us…
Every. One.
Christ does not discriminate.
Despite His distorted reputation.
He came for us all.
Romans 5:8 (ESV)
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
While we are still sinners, Christ’s Crucifixion remains God’s ultimate offering, so that we may once again unite with our Heavenly Father and receive His eternal grace.
What does that mean to you?
Perhaps you have opened your heart to accept His merciful gift, in order to live a life of faith, daily surrendering to His Purpose, His Plan, His Power.
And yet…
Do you give Him all of you? Or do you hold some things back?
Do we trust that even our hardest parts, our darkest moments, our deepest pains can be handed over to our Almighty Savior, knowing “…that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose?” (Romans 8:28)
As a Christian, I want to honor Christ’s Crucifixion, by digging deep within to search for buried broken pieces that I have somehow preserved in my own human grip. I need to take inventory of my actions, my thoughts, my history, my dreams, and my heartaches, to make sure I truly laid them at the foot of the cross. I must honestly search for those things I once gave my Savior, but inevitably took back, attempting to manage it alone. Oh, the list is long in what defines me, my circumstances, and my life.
I quite possibly missed a few things.
Sometimes, we hold things back, even take things back. Grasping particulars tightly, instead of placing them into the outstretched arms of our Savior. If we accept that He gave His all on the cross, do we honor it by giving Him all of us?
I wonder.
What holds us back?
Fear.
Fear of what our Lord may think of us, afraid of letting go of something that is a stronghold in our lives. Who wants to give up control on anything that is hurtful, precious, vulnerable, traumatic or confusing? It’s scary to let go…
Doubt.
Do we really believe that God will deliver us, heal us, guide us, protect us, take care of us, and love us through the hardest parts of our lives? Do we trust that our God has that kind of power? What if His way isn’t our way?
Forgetfulness.
Our distractions may be our biggest barrier to the Cross. Who isn’t busy? Overworked, overwhelmed, and overscheduled… Life is often chaotic and over stimulating… The reality is that many often forget to pray at all, let alone deeply dive into soul searching and surrendering the details of our lives to the Lord.
Selfishness.
Don’t we all just want to do things our own way? It’s our innate desire to make our own choices and take care of our own issues without anyone’s input or help. We are naturally designed to instinctively take what is ours, and protect what is ours… and never give it away. We can handle things on our own, right? No need for allowing the LORD to see it all, take it all, carry it all…
Stubbornness.
I think this is where the ‘taking it back’ comes in, because how often do we give a piece of our lives to be ‘fixed’ and ‘cleaned up’ and then decide the time is up for renovations, the limit was set and God didn’t deliver? God didn’t heal fast enough, transform the ‘right way’, or resolve this conflict or manage that crisis in a timely fashion. Perhaps a stronghold is still holding strong…
Do you have pieces of your life buried behind your faith? Do you hand-pick what you give to God and hold the rest back? If so, are these reasons resonating with you?
They are with me.
And yet, I know that God can’t work in our lives if we don’t let Him.
We may be afraid to reveal hidden parts of ourselves and we may doubt He can work miracles on it all. We may be so busy we forget we have an Almighty Power just waiting for our invitation. We may think we got it covered, or even worse, dismiss His Presence as ineffective.
Guilty as charged.
And yet? The strongest wall I’ve discovered that keeps me from the cross is the idea that I am not worthy of it.
Over and over again, I must be reminded that Christ’s Crucifixion was for me. Little ol’ me. And if I don’t take that to my heart and offer it ALL to Him…
I’m dishonoring the very act of His Crucifixion.
So I go…
To the cross…
With it all.
And His arms are wide open.
Awaiting my offering.
He waits for yours too.
What will you lay at the foot of the cross?
He wants it all.
****So I go…
To the cross…
With it all.
And His arms are wide open.
Awaiting my offering.***
This line gives me abundant hope!
Thank you, Teacher. xxxx
Me too, love. Oh- me too. <3
I swear I cry every time you call me "Teacher". Have I told you that before? I probably have... but every single time. I'm just so blown away at that word. Wow. I'm a learner... and a sharer I suppose. I love you for that incredible encouragement. It both baffles me and lifts me higher.
Beautiful and thank you for the reminder here today exactly what Good Friday and this religious holiday is indeed all about, Chris.
Thanks SO much for reading this and taking it in Janine. <3 I do hope you had a beautiful Easter sweetie! (I hope the Kohl's mess wasn't on Easter!! UGH.)
I think I identify with every single one of those reasons why not. And probably a few more, besides.
As to the unworthiness – now that I’m GOOD at. I can do that, and know it’s okay. Sometimes. In this case.
I know you’re good at that one, ya cutie patootie!! lol 🙂 But seriously… I believe you found the greatest barrier breaker, ya know? LOVE. You DO know how much He loves you… You think you’re a beautiful ‘let down’… But He doesn’t. He thinks you are beautiful. Nothing else. Just beautiful.
A let-down, too, because of all the ways I fail and am hopelessly inadequate. It’s a baffling love, but not mine to deserve, just be happy to be chosen for it.
Well my love, if you find anyone in this world who IS deserving of it- will you let me know? 😉 We all are chosen for it… amazing grace how sweet the sound… that saved a wretch like me.
(Was thinking about you SO much earlier, and then Cass got really sick again tonight… still here on the couch coughing her lungs out. Sigh.)
This weekend is making me sad and I know it shouldn’t. We usually make plans with friends but somehow didn’t and for some reason I just can’t wrap my head around Easter this year. I guess that means my list of things that I should lay down is very long.
I’m so sorry you had a sad Easter weekend, sweet friend!! As soon as I read your comment I prayed for you. I know that sad place… the one where you don’t feel like you should be there but you are? Yeah. And that doesn’t mean your list is very long at all!! It means nothing but that you are sad. <3
Very well said! I had to lay it all down… everything. All at His feet. I am now living on the other side of surrender. 🙂
http://jengrice.com/my-surrender/surrender-everything.html
Oh gosh, how I love that Jen! “I am not living on the other side of surrender.” BEAUTIFUL!!! How’s the view? I am betting it’s quite glorious. 🙂
Beautiful. We often do surrender and then pick up the pieces again. The burden of the cross is great reminder that we no longer need to carry those pieces. These are great reminders. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for coming by Gema! I am guilty of doing that often… I give it to Him- then immediately take it back when the need arises. It’s back and forth for me often. Sometimes I don’t even realize I’ve taken it back, because I’m so drawn into my own coping skills that I’m not aware that I have a tight grip on something that was His. It’s a long road to surrender sometimes…
Beautifully written. Love this one…happy Easter my dear friend.
Aw!! Thank you so much honey!! I’ve been thinking about you so much… praying for YOU!!! (Update me with the move when you can!)
So very beautiful. Such a sad scene – Christ on the cross, but it has become a beautiful thing for me. I know He did it out of love for me, and you. I invite this perfect Savior in and lay all my stuff down at His feet. May my repentance lead me to His holiness.
Oh, how I love your heart WPB. I’ve always adored it. So honest, so real. “May my repentance lead me to His holiness.” <--- LOVE.
Happy happy Easter, Chris. And thank you for making me think. I’ve been a bit in denial about this even feeling like Easter weekend. We weren’t sure if we’d be traveling to see family or not until yesterday…. and so we’re without real plans, and I don’t know – I have not done a good job of giving my all. I hope your weekend is full of blessings and love and laughter and light my friend.
I sure hope your weekend turned out okay, honey!! I read this comment during my crazy packed weekend and it immediately cracked my heart open and prayed for you!! I think about you SO much lately, with everything going on. I don’t know if things have gotten worse or better, but please know I love you and I’m here if you need ANYTHING my friend. <3 Keep trying to pray about things... I promise it will help in ways you may not know or understand or even see. And if you can't, just know that I am praying for you. Okay? Mwuah!
I’ll lay down my life, flaws and all. That’s all I’ve got.
Happy Easter!
I love that Lux! That’s all I’ve got too… I hope you had a beautiful Holiday. <3
Hi Chris! I just dropped by to wish you a Happy Easter. May God bless you and yours with his abundant grace in this holy season.
Prayers for Healing and Happy Spring too!
Ceil
I hope you had a BEAUTIFUL and BLESSED Easter, my dear friend! May God bless you too!! Keep shining His Light the way you do, Ceil. You are a gift. <3
Wow! Reading this felt like being enveloped in a huge, warm hug! Thanks you so much for this Christine! Happy Easter to you and yours! xoxo
Thank you so much Sybil! I hope you had a beautiful Easter too, my friend!
Beautiful post! I have struggled with many of those things at one point or another. I am so thankful for a God and Savior that show me grace!! Happy Easter!!
Me too, Stephanie! I’m just so grateful too… 🙂 Lord knows I need a lot of His Grace, always. I hope you had a beautiful and blessed Easter my friend!
I have serious trust issues. I know that His plans are better than mine and I still trudge along doing what I want. I’m content in life right now, but I often wonder how much more amazing life would be if I listened better..
Oh that is just such a great insight to mention Rabia! Gosh, to think of all the things God truly wants for us in our lives that we missed because we didn’t trust in His Plan and surrender to it! Sigh… And then there is always the hope of Him making all things good and right to bring us to those wonderful things He did intend for us- even through our limited and misguided decisions. That is always my prayer!
What perfect, timely words, my sweet friend! I must sadly admit I hold back a lot. It’s mainly from your first 2 reasons: fear and doubt. These are issues I’m working hard on these days but they just linger on. Thank you for your always much needed encouragement, Chris!
You know, I think sometimes I actually don’t even recognize my fear and doubt play into it! And then when I really think about what I have truly given to Him, I wrestle through the reasons and find them to be one or many of the ones I mentioned. It really takes intentional introspection to delve into the whys and resolve them. Always a work in progress!! I’m glad you are working hard on them these days, my friend!
Hi Chris! You always write straight from the hip, so it’s surprising to think that you don’t throw all you are at Jesus’ feet. Well, it’s heartening too. I’m not the only one who holds back, who has pride, who is ashamed.
I hope you had a wonderful Easter celebration with your lovely family! May we both always give our all to the one who gave us his.
Blessings!
Ceil
You know Ceil, I TELL God everything… but sometimes I think I am guilty of not giving Him everything… ya know? It really takes a lot of intentional prayer. And breaking through these barriers-
I once heard a Pastor explain God’s most amazing sacrificial enduring all encompassing love for us in the most amazing way possible. he said as he looked at the congregation:
I would do anything, for any one of you. My congregation. My church family. The love I have for you — I would give the shirt off my back. I would give you the food from my table. My home to welcome you. I would gladly bear your hurts, sorrows: I would gladly take a bullet for any one of you. I would give you ANYTHING of myself.
I love you THAT much.
But I would Not give you MY son.
I would not sacrifice him, to save you.
I don’t love you that much.
I just started sobbing when I heard that, because it’s true. I could not give one of my own children, to save any one. Not ONE single person in this world. They are MINE.
And oh God – your love; that’s so powerful.
Oh wow… yeah, that hits the heart hard Leslie. I couldn’t do it either. Ah… that kind of LOVE!!
What a beautiful post, love. Sorry I’m late to the party 🙁
And this:
“The strongest wall I’ve discovered that keeps me from the cross is the idea that I am not worthy of it.”
It rings true for me, too.
With heart & soul,
Dani
Oh sweet friend, you NEVER have to apologize for being late. There’s no such thing here. <3
I'm glad this spoke to your heart Dani. Thank you for reading this, I'm always truly blessed every time you come over and share a piece of your heart with me.
So beautiful Chris. This is a true message of hope and love. Surrender. Key word. And yet I tend to want to control everything, deal with things on my own. But your reminded me of the cross, of Christ Love, God love for every single one of us. I am worthy. Stay blessed dear.
Thank you so much Marie. I want to control everything too… it’s in our nature, I suppose! I suppose the more we practice the easier it gets. I know for me, it has been a maturing process. I love how God grows us!