Rescue

This weekend we will celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Church services will be packed and the little people will be dressed in their finest attire. In fact, if you look closely at the Sunday crowd you might see mothers and daughters in coordinating dresses. I can assure you that this was strictly for the purpose of the Easter morning photo op. I would know because I lived it. You may or may not be surprised to know that my mom made all of our dresses one year. It's true and I have no idea how she did it! Make no mistake when you see Austin, his outfit was made for him by either Old Navy or Target.

But I digress.

All of my life, I have heard the Easter story, but it wasn't until I was older that the magnitude of what He did for me started to sink in. Let's be honest, people. When you're young, the Sunday school teachers tend to focus a little more on the resurrection side what with the crafts centered around the empty tomb. I like to call this the G-rated version. It isn't until much later that the pastor rocks your world with the graphic details of just all that "dying on the cross" entails. It was a slow, painful death for some of the worst criminals. Yet He was willing to endure all of it to save us from a fate worse than death.

So many things run through my mind when I stop to think about the reason why I call my Jesus, Savior. First, I put myself in His shoes. And then I quickly move on because thinking about all of that pain makes me throw up in my mouth just a little. Now that I'm a mom, I tend to think of it from Mary's perspective. I'm not gonna lie, it takes all I have not to start the ugly I-look-like-I-just-got-stung-by-a-bee cry. Therefore, I don't camp out here either. But I do wonder what was going through her mind while she grieved and watched her worst nightmare unfold. In my humble opinon, I think she thought about the first time she saw Him. I think she remembered playing chase with her first-born and laughing at things He said. I think she couldn't help but recall all of the scraped knees and elbows she kissed. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that she spent some time thanking God for giving her precious memories to treasure while she felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. But I also think that she was angry with the mocking crowd and frustrated that she couldn't do anything to help her son. And at this point in my thinking, I am acutely aware of why I was not chosen to be the mother of God's Son. Clearly, it was an emotional rollercoaster that this girl was not made to handle.

I also wonder what Jesus was feeling besides excruciating pain. Did our names and faces flash one by one in His mind? Did He feel sadness for those that would not accept His gift of salvation? I wonder alot of things, but there is one thing that the Bible does tell us He experienced and that's separation from His Heavenly Father. Matthew 27:46 says that this was His cry before He died, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" I cannot even imagine {nor do I want to} what this must have felt like. I think Beth Moore describes best what this moment must have been like for Jesus:

I believe this cry marked the exact moment the sins of humanity- past, present, and future- were heaped upon Christ and the full cup of God's wrath poured forth. Somehow I believe that to bear the sin, Jesus also had to bear the separation. Though Christ had to suffer the incomparable agony of separation from the fellowship of His Father while sin was judged, I am moved that He breathed His last breath with full assurance of His Father's trustworthiness. The human body of the Life-giver hung lifeless. It was finished. He gave up His last human breath so He never had to give up on humanity.

In that moment, Jesus became our Rescuer.

If we choose to accept, He will rescue us not only from eternal separation from our Heavenly Father but also from hopelessness, fear, rejection...the list goes on and on.

It is my prayer that those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus will come to church this weekend and will choose to be rescued. If you live in San Antonio, I hope you will consider coming to Community Bible Church {http://www.communitybible.com/easter/} or watching Pastor Emmitt's message online {http://www.communitybible.com/}. My sister, Claire, will be singing one of my favorite songs "Rescue" by Newsong. In fact, Rescue is the title for this year's Easter services at CBC. I am pumped!

In closing, here is a video of my favorite song with scenes from The Passion of the Christ. I hope it moves you as much as it did me.

Be blessed this Easter weekend!