Take a moment to compose a scene in your head of the most horrifying, gruesome, inhumane torture possible.
Got it?
Play the scene again. You need to remember it.
My scene has involved lots of things over the years. Pliers and finger nails. Flogging. Flaying. Scalding oil or water. Cuts filled with salt and vinegar. Electrocution. Drowning. Bankruptcy.
Remember your scene? Good. Play it again…
Now answer this question: Of all the people you know, for whom would you endure everything you just imagined?
How many names are on your list?
Now…say just one name that’s on that list. Keep that person’s face in front of you.
Would you endure the pain and horror you just imagined AND give up everything that is most precious to you…for that person?
Hang on to that answer. We’ll get back to it.
Remember your scene of horror? Play it one more time. This time you’re not experiencing it, you’re watching it. This time the person experiencing your most horrific torture looks up at you and says…
I’m doing this for you.
Every year Christians, even marginally observant ones, celebrate Easter, Passover, or Pascha… We use images of light breaking into the darkness at sunrise. We use lots of pretty pastel colors. We celebrate the coming of Spring and new life. Pastors preach about Crucifixion and Resurrection. Families gather and feast. We use images of crucifixion and resurrection, but the eggs and bunnies and chocolates are what really capture our imagination.
Remember your scene of horrors? Play it again.
Remember the face of the person for whom you’d endure that agony? Say that person’s name.
Now… Say that person’s name again and add…
“I value you and our relationship so much that I’m enduring this for you.”
Now… Imagine God saying to you: “[say your name], I love you and value our relationship so much that I’m enduring this for you!”
I’m not worthy!
No, you’re not…neither am I…nor anyone else. We’ve got it in our heads that we have to earn love. We have to earn love from our families. We have to earn love from our friends. We have to earn rewards at work and on our credit cards.
Earn, earn, earn!
Even when hear the church saying the words, we think “earn” or “repay.”
Here’s the good news: Even when it sounds like the church is say “earn” or “repay,” God says “no, that’s not what I want.”
Trust God.
Let him love you. Let him live in you. Let the relationship change you.
There are many theological and philosophical complexities in Christianity. Start here:
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Jn. 3:16 (NLT)
Until you’re relationship with God grows to the point where you know that God loves you…and that Passover/Easter is about his desire to know you, forget the rest.
Remember the story you came up with earlier?
Jesus went through his horror story for you. Talk to him about it…even if all you can say is “thank you.”
Similar Posts:
- Why Be Guilty and Angry When You Don’t Have to Be?
- The One Question You Must Answer
- How to Find Time to Invest in Your Relationships
- Santa: Jolly and Judgmental?
- If You Love One Another
I hope you enjoy your time on the site and that something in these pages encourages your journey along the Way of Jesus. All thoughts here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts of others or of organizations with which I am affiliated. 
Not much you can say except, “Amen”.
Amazing the thought that Jesus gave up the one thing that mattered: His relationship with His Father.
For one brief moment, He bore every sin for every one of us. To the point that God turned away His eyes from His only Child. So that we, too, could be His children through Him.
Gratitude is the only thing left to convey…
Yeah…gave up that relationship for a brief time so that we could be a part of it.
What has the church done with that? What have we as individuals done with that?