Ok. I must be a little proud and brag on myself - I have exercised 2 days in a row AND I have cut my sweet tea consumption by 90%. Hopefully, this will lead me on my road to dropping the weight preventing me from wearing my cute clothes.
Anyway, I finally decided to move ahead to reasons 2, 3, and 4 of Why Jesus Came to die. WOW is the only word I can say. This book is definitely a must-read. John Piper is truly gifted by God to put such difficult truths into language I can understand.
Reason 2 To Please His Heavenly Father -
I never cease to be amazed by the fact that God planned to have Jesus die on a cross for the sins of the world BEFORE creation. As he was making plans to create man and earth, He KNEW we would screw up everything...and he did it ANYWAY! Ha! I'm not sure I would follow through with a plan that I knew was going to fail and I was going to have to create a second option before I even started????!!!! Come on! He KNEW we would sin! He KNEW HE would have to destroy the earth with a flood! He KNEW I would make every single mistake I have made! HE KNEW EVERYTHING...and He still went through with it. If that doesn't make you see God's love for us, then you need to check your pulse.
Don't miss this....pouring out His wrath for the sins of the world on His own son was HIS idea!!! Jesus didn't stop and say "Hey, Dad, you know, instead of punished all those sinful people, maybe I could take their place and you could just punish me....how does that sound?" NO! Before time began, God knew he would pour out his wrath on his only son. Not only that but Jesus also willingly received that wrath. The beauty is that in his willingness to receive the wrath of the father, the son became the perfect sacrifice. He didn't say, "No, now I have never done anything wrong. Don't lump me in with those heathens on earth. They deserve what they get." He willingly came to earth, handled temptations like ours and then suffered and died on a cross. Wow!
Reason 3 - Christ suffered and died to learn obedience and be perfected
When I feel like the temptation of sin is just too much to bear, I just give in. It's much easier that way. But, as my spiritual hero David Platt explains so eloquently, Christ was tempted even more because he NEVER gave in. Think of it like you're dieting. Someone comes in and sits an apple in front of you and walks away. Not a bad thing to eat, but you've had too many calories today so you really don't need to eat it. Besides, it's just an apple right? Who wants to break their diet for an apple? Then, someone brings in a bag of chips - your favorite. Oooh, now it gets harder to resist. Just a few chips won't hurt, right??? NO! Chips aren't worth it either. Then an order of hot, delicious fries are placed before you. You can smell their greasy deliciousness. It is so difficult to resist. But you do, until a big piece of your favorite Johnny Ray's pie is placed in front of you. Now THAT is worth cheating over, so you dig in. Christ wouldn't give in. HE would sit and look at that pie, and watch as a big glass of sweet tea was placed on the table, and the warm chocolate yumminess made on a Carnival Cruise was put on the table (still hot with ice cream on the side...heavenly) and a juicy burger with all the fixings, and fried chicken, and cake, and ice cream, and every other delicious thing imaginable. Most normal people would just give up and dig in to something (warm chocolate yumminess - I'm sure it has a name, but I like this one better...more exact), but Christ sits there and resists every delicious, tempting food placed in front of him. I know that sounds simplistic compared to sin, but His temptation was so much greater than ours because we give in before it gets too bad and he NEVER gave in. Piper makes this amazing point about Christ's temptation - If the son of God had gone from incarnation to the cross without a life of temptation and pain to test his righteousness and love, he would not be a suitable Savior for fallen man. He had to KNOW what we were going through and still resist it all in order for his sacrifice to be perfect.
Reason 4 - Christ Suffered and Died To Achieve his own Resurrection from the Dead
This one is cool, but it's deep. And I get it, but I don't know if I can explain it. Basically, Piper says that Jesus HAD to shed his blood as the price for our sins and he HAD to die. The wrath of God was satisfied with the suffering and death of Jesus. But God had to prove that this was enough, so he raised Jesus from the dead. I Corinthians 15:17 says "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." The resurrection of Christ PROVES that his suffering and death were enough to cover the sins of every man and woman who would ever live. Thank God for the resurrection. Easter will have a totally new meaning to me this year.
This is a lot of deep stuff, and I am still pondering over it. But it really is helping me see how much God loves us. And how can I not return that love, knowing that I am a recipient of his grace and mercy. How can I not love a creator who knew I was going to screw up, yet he created me anyway and gave me the opportunity to have my screw-ups erased from his memory - no matter how unholy they are? Let this sink in, as I plan to. Pray and meditate on his grace and mercy. Think about where you would be without his love. Ask yourself how you can know this information and NOT want to share it with others? I want to be so filled with love for God that it flows from every pore of my body. I want to want to share his love with every single person I meet. I want his eyes so that I can see others with his love and compassion.
Wow, sorry this is so long. Until next time.....
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