Its Holy Week

As I've been a bit more intentional about following the liturgical calendar, I'm reminded that this is "holy week", the week that began with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and will end with his victorious ascension into heaven. I've been journaling throughout the season of Lent, allowing my thoughts to be guided by an email devotional series I subscribed to from crmleaders.org. This morning I decided that, for the final week, I would journal my thoughts online. For the one or two of you that still check our blog in case we might post something, feel free to share your thoughts.

Luke 22:39-44
As I think about what's really going on here, behind the scenes, I'm dumbstruck. Jesus is pouring out his heart to his Father. He is alone. Completely alone. Oh, his closest friends are nearby, but they don't get what's going on. They're too busy napping to get a clue. Jesus is looking ahead to a cruel, painful, humiliating death and no one really cares.

But that's not the hardest part for me to grasp. You see, I think about God looking down on His Son, knowing what is about to happen, listening to the earnest pleas for help from His only boy, and all God can do is send an angel to comfort him. OK, yes, He could do more, but God's love for US compels Him to choose sacrifice--the sacrifice of His Son--over rescue. Are you kidding? I don't understand that at all. I look at my family, my kids, and there is no one on earth I would give them up for--NO ONE. If one of my kids cried out for my help I would stop at nothing to rescue them. I would sacrifice myself before I would let harm come to them.

As much as I don't understand it, that's just how deep God's love is for us. His heart is so filled with compassion for us that God would stop at nothing to save us and redeem us. He created us and then went on to pay the ultimate price--a price I never would have paid--to buy us back. That's amazing!

Father, help me to understand your love for me. More than that, help me to be filled with that kind of love for others. Give me the willingness to live with the same generosity and extravagance that you showed through Christ. Help me to live like Christ so that you may be glorified in my life. Father, I don't get your love. Its too much to take in. But, with all my heart, I thank you for making me the object of that great love!