He who was undeserving of death died for all who are undeserving of life
He who was undeserving of death died for all who are undeserving of life
Besides Christmas, Holy Week seemed to be one of the busiest moments for churches. Some churches will have nightly services during the week, some will focus on having Maundy Thursday service, and of course most, if not all, will have Good Friday as well as Easter service.
In college, there is chapel everyday for this week as well - a time for us to ponder on the events and the lessons we can take home as we recount the last earthly journey of Jesus. Dr MC preached during the daily chapel session, and just today, many things that he said caught me thinking ...
The first is the phrase "He who was undeserving of death died for all who are undeserving of life" - how true, isn't it! Does Jesus deserve any death penalty at all? NO! Does He deserve the agony He has been put through prior to His arrest and the scourgings/mockings He bore for us? NO! But why did He do that? Why did God allow His ONE and ONLY BELOVED Son to be put through such agony, to the extent of dying a humiliating death on the cross, just for us? The answer is in Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - does Jesus deserve death? How about us, do we deserve life? The whole table is turn around for our sake - we who ought to suffer for our sins get to live instead.
The second phrase that caught my attention is "Love loves what the lover loves". Many times we think very highly of ourselves and feel that we are so blessed to be able to "possess" the love of God in our lives. And when we look at people who are living on the fringe in our society, or people whom we deemed to have lived lives that are immoral, etc - we quite "naturally" shrink back from sharing this love of God with them. Well, let's close the circle a little - think about friends around us who "we cannot stand" ... I guess we probably at times wonder, "how can God loves such people? They are ...." but yet "Love loves what the lover (if I may indicate it as Lover) loves". Jesus wasn't selective about who His death was for, neither did God play favouritism, so who are we to be judgmental or selective about who deserve or do not deserve God's love? Matthew 5:45b "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." The love of God is not meant for us to "hoard" for ourselves, we are the transmitters of this love.
Does it take the presence of the Holy Week to remind us to take time to reflect about what God has done for us, and how we should respond as a result? Certainly not! Reflections should be something done on a regular basis, and commitment to live lives that please God should also be a daily affair. But isn't it an irony then that sometimes or rather, often times, we let each day slip by without really taking time to reflect how well or how badly we fare in accordance to the standards we should live by? I mean, reflections become something that is done only when we go on spiritual retreats, on special occasions such as Watchnight service, New Year Day, Good Friday, Easter, Christmas, etc, isn't it?
During this Passion Week, what would you be reflecting on? Jesus' love for you or your love for Jesus? I pray that as we ponder on the former, it would generate a response of the latter. One way to show our love for the Lord is definitely "to love what the Lover loves ..."
Besides Christmas, Holy Week seemed to be one of the busiest moments for churches. Some churches will have nightly services during the week, some will focus on having Maundy Thursday service, and of course most, if not all, will have Good Friday as well as Easter service.
In college, there is chapel everyday for this week as well - a time for us to ponder on the events and the lessons we can take home as we recount the last earthly journey of Jesus. Dr MC preached during the daily chapel session, and just today, many things that he said caught me thinking ...
The first is the phrase "He who was undeserving of death died for all who are undeserving of life" - how true, isn't it! Does Jesus deserve any death penalty at all? NO! Does He deserve the agony He has been put through prior to His arrest and the scourgings/mockings He bore for us? NO! But why did He do that? Why did God allow His ONE and ONLY BELOVED Son to be put through such agony, to the extent of dying a humiliating death on the cross, just for us? The answer is in Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - does Jesus deserve death? How about us, do we deserve life? The whole table is turn around for our sake - we who ought to suffer for our sins get to live instead.
The second phrase that caught my attention is "Love loves what the lover loves". Many times we think very highly of ourselves and feel that we are so blessed to be able to "possess" the love of God in our lives. And when we look at people who are living on the fringe in our society, or people whom we deemed to have lived lives that are immoral, etc - we quite "naturally" shrink back from sharing this love of God with them. Well, let's close the circle a little - think about friends around us who "we cannot stand" ... I guess we probably at times wonder, "how can God loves such people? They are ...." but yet "Love loves what the lover (if I may indicate it as Lover) loves". Jesus wasn't selective about who His death was for, neither did God play favouritism, so who are we to be judgmental or selective about who deserve or do not deserve God's love? Matthew 5:45b "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." The love of God is not meant for us to "hoard" for ourselves, we are the transmitters of this love.
Does it take the presence of the Holy Week to remind us to take time to reflect about what God has done for us, and how we should respond as a result? Certainly not! Reflections should be something done on a regular basis, and commitment to live lives that please God should also be a daily affair. But isn't it an irony then that sometimes or rather, often times, we let each day slip by without really taking time to reflect how well or how badly we fare in accordance to the standards we should live by? I mean, reflections become something that is done only when we go on spiritual retreats, on special occasions such as Watchnight service, New Year Day, Good Friday, Easter, Christmas, etc, isn't it?
During this Passion Week, what would you be reflecting on? Jesus' love for you or your love for Jesus? I pray that as we ponder on the former, it would generate a response of the latter. One way to show our love for the Lord is definitely "to love what the Lover loves ..."
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