Saturday, December 13, 2008

And I did not see a temple in her, for the Lord God Almighty is her temple, and also The Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon in order that they might give it light, for the glory of God has illuminated it and Its Lamp Is The Lamb. Rev. 21:22, 23.

What will it be like when we meet Jesus (the Lamb) in the Holy City? What thoughts will run through our minds? What will we feel? I suspect, if we have a true picture of what He went through for us, that a deep well of gratitude will burst forth in our heart and will swell more and more throughout eternity. We can only begin to sense it now, but we can at least make a start.

Imagine that on a hot July day you have to work in the fields all day long, 14 hours of hard labor. I know that you cannot withstand a day like that, so at the last minute I step forward and take your place. You stay home and think all day about my experience: the hot sun, the flies, the backbreaking work, the sore muscles, the aches and pains, and the desire just to sit and rest in the shade. When I return, I tell you how the day went, and you say, "I see. Thank you, friends, for what you did." But do you really see? Do you really know what it was like-how every moment was agonizingly slow, how every step was torture to my feet?

Now just suppose that, instead of staying behind, you had come along with me that day. Actually watching me labor those 14 hours, you had seen me stooped, barely able to walk, my hands blistered by the hoe, my face burned by the hot sun. You would watch me stumble and sweat and look for relief, watching the hands on my watch move ever so imperceptibly. Had you done that, you would truly have begun to understand. You would not have felt the physical pain, but you would have better grasped just what I endured for you, and the gift that I gave of myself that day would stay with you forever.

So it is with the Crucifixtion. When we think about it, we maybe picture Christ being whipped. How many times? Once? Twice? With what? Do you picture His flesh torn? Do you have any clue how that looks? Does that crown of thorns rest nicely on His head like a laurel wreath, or is it pressed deep into His flesh, causing rivulets of blood to stream down His face and body? What about the other beatings He endured? Scripture tells us that He was virtually unrecognizable(Isa. 52:14).

And all of this was after His only friends had betrayed and abandoned Him. The song goes, "His eyes were on the crowd that day, but He looked ahead in time. When He was on the cross, I was on His mind." When Jesus died that day He died for me. Once you and I truly understand this, it will be the basis for eternal gratitude.

Lord, I look forward to a face-to-face relationship with You. Until then, I will daily express and live my gratitude to You for what You have done for me.

"The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." James 5:11. He waits with unwearied love to hear the confessions of the wayward and to accept their penitence. He watches for some return of gratitude from us, as the mother watches for the smile of recognition from her beloved child. He would have us understand how earnestly and tenderly His heart yearns over us(TFMB 84).