I was talking to my friend the other day about what was going on with me and the ladies who were telling lies about me behind my back. She has such a great, Godly perspective on things, and once again the conversation stuck with me. It came down to this:

When Jesus died on the cross, He was looking out at a crowd that He created. He created us because He loved us. He loved us into existence. And here was a whole crowd of these people, so beloved by Him, who had betrayed Him, abused Him, and now were killing Him. He had committed no crime, and had shown nothing but love for His people. And He remained peaceful and loving until His death.

Just take a second to think about that, and to think about just how much it hurt Him to see this happening. In His humanity, Jesus could feel the pain of rejection, the emotional pain of His people turning on Him and sentencing Him to death. He did it anyway. His sacrifice was a true labor of His eternal undying love for us.

It makes anything we go through pale in comparison. Our problems are on such a smaller scale than His ever were, and yet we have such a hard time handling them with even an inkling of the peace and love He showed to the world.

As Christians, we should remember this sacrifice regularly, and let it move us. Let it move us to the point where it shapes us. It should not only be something we remember and base our faith on, but something that dictates our actions. We need to walk in this sacrifice He gave us, and keep it in our hearts so that when we too go through trials, we can handle them in a Godly and Kingdom-minded manner.

There are no words to fully describe what Jesus gave us on that day and what it cost Him. But there are ways to show our gratitude, and living our lives – including handling our problems – the way He showed us is a great place to start.

God bless!

~ Rebekah A