I just got of Skype with my dad and he asked if the boys had school today. My reply:
“Yes. we live in the Bible Belt, we don’t celebrate religious holidays!”
It is really sad, Logan even has a baseball game tonight…come on.
That isn’t stopping me though. I am thinking today, how to make it a little more real, not only for my children, but for me. If I could find my slides (and a slide projector at that!) from my trip to Israel, I would surely break those out. My faith, for the first time, was shattered. As all of my mental images of the “safe” Crucifixion and life of Christ were torn down, as the reality of the civilization, culture and tragedy came stacking up.
The “watering hole”, which is now a bus stop, where the Crucifixion began, the jagged cliff that he was moved up to, so the whole city could see, mock and stare at him. The small tomb that is nearby, where the bloody mess was laid. I am sure unrecognizable. Dehydrated in that climate is not hard to come by. Beaten beyond recognition, before bleeding and suffocating to death.
When I talk with ladies about coming before the Lord, and bringing our wants and desires to him, I often refer to the prayer that Christ made in the Garden. “Lord take this cup from me, but your Will be done.” Christ was praying for God to change his hand. Asking and pleading to the point that he was sweating blood. I throw a temper tantrum every time that God doesn’t answer my “drive by” prayer. “I pleaded and begged God! What the…” Have I ever prayed and fought for something to the point that I was sweating blood? To the point I was sweating at all? Don’t forget this, that Christ pleaded for the Crucifixion not to happen, but still God said no. Why? Because he couldn’t live apart from you anymore. God…dare I say…betrayed his son…so that we could have a lover like no other. God loves you and I more than I can comprehend. Christ honored that love by allowing himself to be slaughtered. My heart is overwhelmed with love, it is a Great Friday.
I still love to sing, “I will cling to the old rugged cross…” like we used to on Sunday nights.