Jesus – With Eyes on the Cross

To Whom Shall I Go?

Have you ever come across a scripture that you know you have read a million times, and this time it’s different, it hits you, hard, and you realize that you get it?

The sixth chapter of John starts by telling us about all of the people who were following Jesus because of the miracles that He was performing. They were watching Him as He went about healing the sick. As the crowd is gathering, Jesus shows compassion for their physical needs and feeds them. He fed all five thousand of them with five small loaves of bread and two small fish. Not only did everyone get their fill, there were twelve baskets of leftovers. That very evening, Jesus walks on water.

The next day the crowd follows Him all the way to Capernaum. They want to know how to do the work that God requires. They want a sign, like the manna from Heaven that was given to their forefathers. Jesus tries to explain to them that He is the bread of life. They are so focused on the physical, they completely miss the point. Jesus is offering them something eternal, something so much better than manna.

Do you know what many of the disciples said, “This statement is very unpleasant; who can listen to it?” (John 6:60) And then, they left. They walked away. They walked away from Jesus the day after He miraculously fed them all because they thought that what He was teaching was too hard.

Jesus turned to the twelve and asked “You do not want to leave too, do you?” (v. 67). Simon Peter responds, “Lord, to whom shall we go?”

Can you see the puzzled look on Simon Peter’s face as he turns to Jesus to answer this question? Can you feel the burden in his heart?

I had never understood Peter before. My head got it. Now, my heart feels it, in every tiny crevice. I feel what he is saying. To whom shall I go?

During those long months when I wrestled with God over the death of our son. When I poured out my heart begging to understand why this had to be the plan, it didn’t occur to me to walk away from God. Where would I go? There is no one else who understands the way that God understands. There is no one else who can comfort the way God can comfort.

I wrestled with God. The very scripture that God gave us to bring us comfort, I spewed back at Him as I told Him that it wasn’t comforting. I showed Him the flaw in His plan. I freely shared with Him all of the things that He could have done differently to change the outcome. My heart was shattered.

Do you know what God did? He listened. He held me in my pain. He brought me comfort in ways that I could have never imagined – through songs, through family and friends, through memories, through others who were walking the same journey. He waited patiently while I grieved. Do you know what He didn’t do? He never walked away from me. He never left me to grieve alone.

If God isn’t going to walk away from me during my darkest times, how could I walk away from Him? I will probably never understand this side of Heaven why Joshua died so young. What I do know is that in all things, in all seasons of life, God is faithful. I know that one day, my time on this earth will also come to an end. On that day, my faith shall be my sight. On that day, I will join my Savior in Heaven and be reunited with my son where we will spend all of eternity together without any tears, without any sorrow. What a glorious day that will be!

Easter Traditions and Sacrifices

When I was growing up, Easter was a day full of traditions. Weeks in advance, we would head to the store to choose the pattern and fabric for our new dresses. Mom and grandma would spend several Saturdays, measuring, cutting and sewing. I can still hear their conversations as they worked. We always woke up on Sunday morning to find a new Easter basket filled with goodies. There was always a big Easter egg hunt with everyone searching for that one special egg – the one that held the dollar bill. It was the grand prize of Easter eggs!

I always felt so proud headed off to church in my new Easter dress with my brand new patent leather shoes. They could not be worn until Easter morning so there were no scuff marks, and I would be so careful that day.

Even as we got older, the tradition of the Easter basket continued. We were too old to hide eggs, but mom still wanted to give us gifts. I never asked her why.

Other than the Easter eggs, I do not remember what she put in our baskets. Except for the last Easter basket she gave me. The spring of 1994. I was just a couple of months away from getting married, and money was tight. When we had chosen the wedding invitations, I desperately wanted the matching napkins for the reception. Mom said it just wasn’t possible. There just wasn’t enough money for the napkins. I was disappointed; yet I understood.

Easter morning arrived, and I wasn’t expecting anything. After all, I was a grown woman about to get married, why would I have an Easter basket. But I did. And inside that basket were those beautiful napkins that I had wanted for the wedding reception. It was bittersweet. I was so excited to have them. I knew that she had sacrificed to buy those napkins. I knew that she had chosen to go without something for herself, so that I could have something extra special at my wedding.

Easter is about a sacrifice. It is about the Son of God coming to Earth as a human knowing that He was going to be beaten, flogged and die on a cross. He didn’t want to die on the cross, yet He did because He knew what His sacrifice meant for His creation.

Today Easter looks different for most of the nation. There won’t be any dressing up in new dresses and heading off to church. There won’t be any church Easter egg hunts or large family gatherings for lunch at Grandma’s house.

Sure, you could say that we are being asked to sacrifice for the health of our nation. Our sacrifice is nothing compared to what Jesus endured on that cross.

Maybe instead of feeling like we have had to give up something today, what if we choose to see what we have gained. Yes, church buildings will sit empty this morning. But so is the tomb. And because of that we have the promise of eternal salvation with our Creator and our Savior.

Instead of the busyness that usually comes with Easter, what if we spent today back at the tomb. Really going back there, to that first Easter. There wasn’t any pomp and circumstance. There weren’t any new dresses or Easter egg hunts. There were two women, who had just lived through the worst two days of their lives heading to the tomb. Why? The Bible doesn’t say. Maybe they just wanted to visit Jesus’ graveside while they mourned. But the stone had been rolled away and the grave was empty. Jesus was not there. They walked there with sadness and pain. They left with joy.

This has been a difficult 4 weeks for our nation. Maybe your life is full of sadness and pain right now due to circumstances that have been beyond your control. Maybe today is the day that you take your sadness and pain to the tomb and come away with some joy and hope.

Today is typically one of the most well-attended worship days of the year. This year, all of the distractions have been taken away – I pray we can spend some time reflecting on the ultimate sacrifice. That we spend some time talking to our children about what Jesus did for us and why. That we can focus on the true meaning of the gift that was given to us on that morning some two thousand years ago, when Jesus was raised from the dead and that tomb was found empty.

Which god is the one true God?

I was asked the other day how I know that my God is the one God. Almost every culture has its own god, so how could I be so sure. The question came from someone who is very curious. It was not asked in a critical or judgmental way. Admittedly, my first thought was, “because the Bible says so.” Guess what, every group that worships a different god has their own bible that says the same thing.

So, I have been pondering this question, while searching out people who are smarter than I am, trying to find a better response.

I have grown up in a culture that recognizes God as the divine authority. “In God we trust” is printed on our currency. “One nation under God” is part of our pledge of allegiance. We use BC and AD to talk about events before Christ and after His death, albeit there is a group trying to change this. There are Christian principles in our own constitution. However, recently much of this has begun to change. There are movements to remove these words from our pledge and our currency. It is often offensive to mention religion at all. Christian principles used to be the recognized moral compass in our society. There was a standard, a code. That is also changing. Truth is becoming relative. It is fluid.

God’s truth doesn’t change. He is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow. So, to answer the question as best I can, here is what I know to be true about God.

God created the heavens and the earth, and I see His fingerprints everywhere I look. In the trees that lose their leaves in the fall and regrow them in the spring. In the mountains, the rivers that flow and the animals that feed off the land. In the beauty of a woman growing a baby in her belly. In the unique snowflakes that fall quietly to the ground. In the hearts of those who help anyone with a need.

1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. In love, He created the world around us and each of us. We have been made in His image. Have you ever created anything? A piece of art, a blanket, a bird house. Did you not love your creation when you were finished with it? God loves us so much more and longs for us to turn to Him.

John 20:29 says, “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” It is easy to believe something that we see. I say that, and yet, not everyone who walked the earth with Jesus believed Him. The very definition of faith is having total confidence even when we can’t see and don’t understand.

God the Son came to earth to save us. When God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in a garden and gave them free will. There was only one rule. They broke that rule. They sinned. God gave them a choice because He didn’t create robots or puppets. Since God is perfect, man could no longer live in the garden with Him. Yet, that isn’t the end. God didn’t give up. He didn’t quit on us. God designed another way for us to get to Heaven. Since that day in the garden, He has been trying to draw us back to Him. He sent Jesus to shed His blood on the cross to atone for our sins. Jesus saves us. How many of us would willingly face the horrible death that Jesus faced for someone we loved? Jesus did it even for those who mock His name. That is love.

When I started college, I was planning to become a lawyer. I have watched enough Matlock to know that anyone who wanted to could poke a lot of holes in my arguments; however, what I have realized is that I can’t prove to anyone that God exists. God is omnipotent, He is the Creator, the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end. If He hasn’t done enough to prove Himself, there isn’t anything I can say or do to sway another person’s opinion.

But, oh, I wish I could. I wish that for just one second, you could see, truly see what God has done for me. No, He hasn’t answered every prayer and life hasn’t been a bed of roses. However, He has been true to His word. He has walked every difficult path with me. He has prompted others to help me. He has blessed me in ways that I am sure I didn’t even recognize at the time. Why? Just like every artist loves what he has created, God treasures His creation. He loves us in immeasurable ways.

I need to lay eyes on her

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8

Years ago my mom had a friend who was in the hospital. She had heard from a mutual friend that their friend’s health was improving, but it wasn’t enough. After church that evening, my mom said, “I need to stop by the hospital and lay eyes on her.”

I have often pondered what my mom said that night. It wasn’t good enough for her to hear about her friend from someone else. She needed to look at her and see for herself. Recently, this expression has begun to take on a different meaning – a more personal meaning.

The truth is, we can be fooled by someone’s words and even by their tone of voice. We have all done it. We haven’t really been feeling up to par, but didn’t want to admit it. So, we put on a fake smile and just enough pep in our voice to pass inspection. My mom knew all of the tricks. She wasn’t easily fooled. However, she knew if she could look at her friend for herself, lay eyes on her, she would know for sure how she was really doing.

My relationship with Christ is very similar. It isn’t enough for me to hear about Jesus from someone else. Not everyone teaches truth. It isn’t enough for me to simply attend church and listen to a minister or a Sunday school teacher talk about scripture. Oh sure, they can tell me how Jesus has blessed them or been faithful, but I can’t truly know Jesus without laying my own eyes on Him.

I need to lay eyes on the cross for myself. I need to see Christ’s suffering with my own eyes in order to truly understand this gift of salvation that I have been given. I need to talk to Him for myself. I need to spend time in the Word so I can hear His voice for myself.

When my eyes are on the cross, my thoughts are focused on eternity and my decisions are grounded in God’s truths. Just like my sweet momma needed to lay eyes on her friend, we must lay eyes on the cross every single day.

Have you laid eyes on the cross today?

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2