because of Him, I am free.
Because of what Jesus Christ did, I am set free. i am set free to be me - the real me...the one God has made me to be. but my freedom came with a price, the death of Jesus Christ.
sometimes we look at the cross too casually. we know what happened 2004 years ago, but we don't know. we remember it, but we don't remember. you know what i mean? it's pretty sad...
so where did these thoughts come from? at church on sunday (CFC in up here in loo) they showed the trailer to the new movie the Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson (which is set to premiere on Feb. 25th). in it they showed bits and pieces of the crucifixion and it really hit me. and i'm thankful for the much needed reminder. i only saw like, a little tidbit of the movie but yah. it just seemed so real. it WAS so real. i could feel the tears starting to form in my eyes. my Jesus...our Jesus Christ, going through all that pain and agony for, me. and you. it was really moving.
let us not look at the cross casually, or nonchalantly. instead, let us look at the cross with utmost respect and remember the sacrifice, the pain, the suffering, and the love that kept Him there until it was done.
What is crucifixion? A medical doctor provides a physical description: The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist deep into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement. The cross is then lifted into place. The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed.
The victim is now crucified.
As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain - the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet. As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through his muscles, knotting them deep relentless, and throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subsided. Spasmodically, he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen. Hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-renting cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against rough timber.
Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level. The compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues. The tortured lungs are making frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues.
Finally, he allows his body to die.
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