Teach us to pray, part 40: The Price of Forgiveness

And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4 NASB)

There is no better topic for Good Friday than the issue of "forgive us our sins" and the price that was paid for that forgiveness. Understanding the price paid for forgiveness requires that we understand the need for forgiveness. On this early morning, the birds are filling the air with song, light is just beginning to fill the sky, and peace reigns, or so it appears. The stain of sin seems far removed, but the vision from which I shrink is the dark blot of sin in me. 

My preference is to think of myself as the daughter of the King of heaven, but that relationship was made possible only by the unbounded mercy that covered my sin. When God created this world and placed man (and woman) in it, He pronounced it good. There was nothing evil or wrong or bad in it. No sin. 

This is hard for me to comprehend, but there was no sin in Adam or Eve, either. There was choice, though, and it was that choice that ushered sin right in the door to its happy home in the hearts of humankind. It wasn't the serpent that brought sin into the world. He wrapped it in an attractive package, but it was mankind who unwrapped that package and embraced sin with open arms.

In their defense, Adam and Eve did not believe the consequences of sin would be so great, so far reaching. When Eve reached out for the fruit that would, she believed, make her wise, she was not yet a mother. She never once considered that her decision would result in one of her sons murdering the other, nor that the murdering son would be lost to her, as well. Would she or Adam have done something that would result in the loss of their two sons? Maybe not, if they had realized the price. 

That's one of the problems with sin. All we see is the enticing option. We never see the long-term cost. If we did, it might stop us in our tracks. It is the nature of sin, however, that the price is great and the payday is, many times, long in coming. If I am honest about my own sin, I have to admit that my bad choices, my sin, though long repented and forgiven, still reap a price years later. Sin is far more attractive than it should be. 

If we only knew the price, I think, and then I remember. We do know the price. God gave us the law, and we kept right on sinning. He allowed discipline and we responded by cleaning up our acts for a time, then, like a dog returning to its vomit, we went right back to the sin we loved. 

I had a horse that could not be broken once. I tried everything to gentle him, without success, then finally, reluctantly sold him. He did not have a good end, but, by the time of our parting, I had endured enough of him. He was welcome to whatever came his way. God, however, did not respond to our sin by giving up on us. He did not abandon us to our own wickedness. God, in His infinite mercy, said, "There is a price that must be paid for all of Leanna's sin, for all mankind's sin, and it is so high that I will have to pay it Myself." And He did. 

Scripture tells us about the cross. We know with our mind what it cost Christ to pay our debt, but our hearts cannot take it in. He endured terror and pain, death and shame, and He did it for me. For you.  

It is customary to spend some time considering the cross on Good Friday, but our time might be well spent in considering our compulsion to sin that made the cross necessary. For today, I'm asking God to show me my sin the way He sees it, to show me the ways in which my sin made the cross necessary. I know my sin. What I need to see, all over again, is how God sees my sin, for it is only when I see myself as I am that I can truly understand the enormity of what Jesus did for me, the horrific price He paid. We aren't meant to stay in this difficult place, but it is important to visit it long enough to appreciate the light that Christ bought for us. Join me today on this journey of self-enlightenment, this journey of darkness, as we see ourselves in the light of God and recognize our own unworthiness. 

The Recognition, part 8: The Daily Cross

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:23 NASB)

The word translated as "daily" is hēmera, and is used to indicate a period of time. It can, as the translation here, indicate a day, but it is translated elsewhere as a lifetime. Perhaps both translations are pertinent. Following Jesus requires that we deny ourselves and pick up our cross, our destiny, that way in which we make the most impact for Christ. 

It is all too common to pick up our cross once or twice, find it difficult, then lay it down again. Jesus, however, was clear. Taking up our cross is to be a daily act of submission to Him. It is to be an act of  hēmera, of daily surrender every day for the rest of our lives. That "every day for the rest of our lives" seems a little overwhelming doesn't it? We have a tendency to think, "No one does anything 'for the rest of their life'!" That, of course is not true. We awaken, have a cup of coffee, bathe, get dressed, eat a meal, go to work. What we do on a daily basis becomes so routine that, in a way, it is nearly effortless, or at least much easier. 

When we take up our cross daily, it eventually becomes our "routine", as well. It becomes a part of us, and we miss that surrender when we omit it. If you fail to eat breakfast before leaving for work, you notice it. In much the same way, omitting Christ from your day can become just as noticeable, just as uncomfortable.  Omitting Christ from our day should be not only uncomfortable, it should become unbearable. 

It is when we make this taking up of the cross a daily part of our lives that we can enjoy the sweet fellowship with our Lord that He intended. It is only in the denying of self and taking up of our cross that we become true followers of Christ. Our Lord did not say we could take up our cross if it was convenient or if we wanted to do it. He was clear. If we want to follow Him, then we will take up our cross, and we will take it up daily. It is not optional. 

As we begin our day, may be be so eager to follow Him that we willingly take up the cross, knowing that we do not bear it alone and that it brings the sweetness of communion with our Lord, all along the way. 

The Recognition, part 6: the cross

YouAnd He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:23 NASB)

As if the denying of self was not hard enough, Jesus told the disciples that those who wished to come after Him would both deny themselves and take up their cross daily. This taking up our cross is sometimes a difficult concept. At the time Jesus said these words, He had not yet been crucified. He had, however, already taken up His cross. 

The cross was used as a form of execution by the Romans, on which criminals were crucified. Nailed to the wooden beams and left to die in the blazing sun, their deaths could be a prolonged agony. It was a horrible form of death. It was not only the instrument of death for Jesus but clearly no surprise to Him. It was the worst method of death by which He paid for the worst kind of sin. My sin. Your sin. 

The cross was, in a way, the purpose of His coming. It was that to which He was destined. Jesus came to die and be raised again, and He came to die on the cross. Everything He taught, every miracle He did pointed toward the supreme sacrifice He would make for us. Isaiah described Him as a suffering servant, and that is what He was, even to suffering on the cross as He served us with His sacrificial death. 

When we look at what the cross meant to Jesus, we must also ask what our cross means to us. It is not just a piece of jewelry or a decorative icon, or it should not be. Our cross is that for which we were born, that which is our destiny. Those sound like big words, don't they? Though big, they are no less true. 

It is easy to be so caught up in the busy routine of our lives that we miss our destiny entirely. Peter was a busy and successful fisherman until the day business and destiny collided. Not everyone who follows Jesus will leave their business and become a full-time minister, but some will. Others will embrace a variety of service options, from visiting shut-ins to feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless. 

We all have a cross to bear. Jesus's words make that clear. What is your cross, your destiny? What is the reason for which you were born? How are you called to serve in the Kingdom of God?  You may wonder if this business of knowing and bearing your cross even matters. It does. Jesus said that we would take up our cross daily and follow Him. Just as the following must be preceded by denial of self, so, too, it must be preceded by taking up our cross on a daily basis. As we begin our day, let us start by picking up our cross, that we might follow close to our Lord, who embraced His own cross for us.