The Weekly Encourager – April 13, 2017 – Thursday Thoughts

I woke up this morning thinking about the meaning of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. As songs played in my head I contemplated, just for a few moments, Christ on the cross.

“This the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us,
took the blame, bore the wrath;
we stand forgiven at the cross.”

“My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul!”

“See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?”

In social media there's a tradition called TBT, or Throwback Thursday. On Thursdays, people post photos from back in time: cute baby shots, how nerdy they looked in high school, their first car, or some other fond memory from the past. Well, today is Throwback Thursday, when we look back upon the most significant Thursday in history, the day when Jesus shared His last meal with the disciples on His way to the cross. Jesus broke the bread and poured the wine, and He washed their feet as a common slave would do. Look back, not with nostalgia, but with wonder that the Son of God came not to be served, but to serve.

A conversation last Sunday with K. and T. about forgiving our enemies has been on my mind all week. I've been thinking about how forgiveness truly is the purpose behind Easter. Most of us have heard the humorous quote, “If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything!” I suggest the following: If you haven't got forgiveness, you haven't got anything. My sin put the Lord of Glory, God's only Son, on the cross. It is only as I contemplate how deep and wide is my own sin, that I begin to comprehend how deep and wide is the love of God.

The Cross: What did it mean then? And what does it mean now? It means that I am known, yet loved, accepted, cared for, forgiven beyond my human comprehension. I am forgiven stretching back into the past and forward into the future. God showed mercy while I was yet a sinner, therefore I can show mercy to others while they are yet sinners. If He can forgive me, He can forgive anyone. In remembrance of Him, today we look back, not at photos, but at God's Word. We take into ourselves the bread and wine of forgiveness, full and free! Then, filled with gratitude for His grace, we pour out our lives for our enemies. We bless them, we pray for them, we do good toward them, we are kind to them, we serve them, we share the gospel with them, we never give up hope for them.

“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” This is the power of the cross.

Good TBT,
j

”Power of the Cross” Written by Aaron Lindsey, Dayna Caddell, Israel Houghton, Ricardo Sanchez, Ricardo Angel Sanchez
“It is Well With My Soul” Written by P P. Bliss, Gloria Roe
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” Written by Isaac Watts
“if you haven't got your health” Quote from “The Princess Bride”