Last night as I was leaving VBS, I heard about the lesson the kids were learning about the cross. They each held onto a nail & thought of a sin they commited & it was tied into Jesus being nailed on a cross for each one of us. When I walked out with Lindsay at the end of the night - she asked, "Is it wrong that that disturbs me in so many levels?" I asked her why & she said the whole idea of the cross scares her. She refused to watch "Passion of the Christ" knowing it was such a violent look at the cross. I have to admit - the movie put a whole new view to me what happened compared to just reading the Bible & picturing it in my mind.
Our conversation continued - she said she can't stand to look at a cross with Jesus hanging on it - like you would maybe find in a Catholic church. I told her, the good news is, Jesus is no longer on that cross - He is alive, living & ready to come back to us one day. I also reminded her she studies the Holocost, World Wars, & horrible events of the past. The cross to a Christian is a reminder of a past - even if its not a beautiful picture of the pain that our Christ endured. But really, in the end, it turns into the MOST beautiful picture there is - the picture of hope & grace.
I guess when everyone looks at the cross, so many things come to mind. I hope I took a little fear away from Lindsay at least. What do I see? I see forgiveness that I dont deserve - which turns into a reverance & a love for my Heavenly Father who loves me. I also am reminded of a song by Ray Boltz that says, "Do you still feel the nails, every time I fail?...I just cant stand the thought of hurting him" - the cross is also encouragement to live a better life. So many opinions, so many thoughts - what do you see?
Friday, July 20, 2007
2 comments:
I am thankful for each comment & like to respond to every one of them....
If you noticed I do not respond to your comments, it is because you are a "no reply" blogger and I am unable too!
How to enable your e-mail: BLOGGER ACCOUNTS: To do this, click on your Dashboard, click on EDIT PROFILE and place a check mark next to SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS, and finally scroll to the bottom and click SAVE PROFILE.**
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
For me, sometimes it is important to see the depiction of Jesus on the cross as a reminder, because it's so easy to forget the sacrifice he made and seeing it humbles me. I think, for me, it's important to have both, a crucifix as a vivid reminder of his suffering and an empty cross as a reminder that he is risen.
ReplyDeleteRebecca, my tears are going down- my face. But, my prayers for you are going up, to our Lord. My heart breaks with you, and for you, during this "storm" in your life.
ReplyDeleteLove you,
Lois Eberle