Instead, he
gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was
born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in
obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
The beautiful
picture of the last day of Jesus’ life highlights what His entire life looked
like. Many different books and movies
have dramatized those hours. My favorite
is in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ when Jesus walked out of the tomb,
yet it is often the responses Jesus had that give me lessons to learn and to
live by.
Jesus told His
disciples to stick together, to own their shortcomings and not to fight for
what is self-serving. Remember what
happened when Peter cut off the ear one of the men trying to arrest Him. Remember when the taunts and mocking of the
people around the cross turned to Jesus’s words to His father of
forgiveness. Remember the compassion of
standing with Thomas and allowing this doubtful disciple to touch His wounds.
It is the grace
Jesus showed that gave people a chance to step back and make adjustments in
their lives. Are there adjustments we
need to make so we will look more like Jesus or so others want to know our God?
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world,
but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then
you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and
perfect.
Be careful how you think. We often do allow the thoughts or leanings of
the world to change our thinking. There
is nothing tougher or more troubling than when we allow ourselves to focus on
the wrong things.
God is in the business of changing our actions, our
words and even our thinking. What are
the characteristics of the person who is seeking God and allowing Him to
transform their lives?
The wrong way is evident:
My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their
deepest desire is to destroy others.
Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are
filled with flattery.
But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Go with that thought for a few verses:
Rescue others
by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution,
hating the sins that contaminate their lives.
For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in
judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
But you are
not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy
nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called
you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Make
allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
The Golden Rule
I have heard since I was very young as the verse above says, and here is
another version of it:
Do to others
as you would like them to do to you.
Take a full look at Easter. Jesus responded to people the way that He
expects us to respond to people. That is
the way of grace, love and forgiveness.
He didn’t push away the pain or even down His accusers. Easter is full of reminders of new life, of
refreshing and of giving power to others as the presence of God fills our
lives.
The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
May our lives reflect the character of
Christ. The last day of Jesus’ life was
something like a magnifying glass of what our lives can look like when we are
transformed by the endless grace of our loving God.
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