Thursday, June 11, 2015

Jesus Accepts Us Any Way We Come To Know Him


John 19:38-39 -  Afterwards Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jewish leaders, boldly asked Pilate for permission to take Jesus’ body down; and Pilate told him to go ahead. So he came and took it away. Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night, came too, bringing a hundred pounds of embalming ointment made from myrrh and aloes.

 

Jesus stumbled soon into His way to Golgotha at the weight of His cross…..requiring another man…a simple bystander to bear it the rest of the way. The soldiers continued to taunt and mock Him ….gambling for His clothes at the foot of the cross.  Jesus maintained complete control throughout the whole ordeal.  He picked a caregiver for His sweet mother…then uttered His last words and He left this world to pay the heavy price for the sin of the world.

 

Some people believed in Christ from the moment they met Him. Many people maintained their worldly connection and refused to believe in the power of Christ…even though they saw the great miracles that God allowed Him to do. But there were at several people that were changed forever in the last moments of Jesus’ life…..from the experience of watching His physical suffering and the reaction of God to His creation.

 

There was the criminal that Luke spoke of in His writings.  He was so touched by the presence of Jesus next to him that he believed …Jesus allowing Him access to Heaven the very same day.  Recorded in Matthew 27 there was the Roman captain and His soldiers that gazed on the afternoon’s happenings and believed that He surely God’s son when the earthquake shook the world during His death. Then there were the two leaders….Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus…who held back for fear when He was alive…but used Jesus death as a catalyst to be bold and help bury Him properly.

 

It is a reminder that all of us come to know Christ in different ways.  Some of us will learn of Him and develop deep relationships from the moment we meet Him.  Some go the way of the world and meet Him in the last moments of their lives. Some hold back in fear of how the world will react to our decision to follow Christ…but eventually let go of the world and completely surrender to God’ will for our lives. Each decision is unique…. precious to God and seen equally in His eyes.

 

What a great truth of God that it doesn’t matter how or when you come to know Him. What matters is that you believe on Him and the precious gift of salvation He provided through His death on the cross and  resurrection. Death bed conversions are real….and so are all the other ways that God gets His children’s attention so that they will believe on His son.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that no one conversion experience is the same. Forgive me for the times that I have judged and refused to accept someone’s faith because of how they said it happened.  Help me instead look more at the heart that was changed…like you looked upon the criminal on the cross next to you…..so that more people will understand the deep love you had to give all of us such a precious gift of eternal life. Amen.

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