Easter

This past Easter, Pastor Bennett really encouraged members to bring someone to church with them.  I brought my mom who was raised Catholic so this was a very different experience for her.  At our house following service, she said something that caught my attention.  She said that she had never heard anyone thanking Jesus for going to the cross.  This seemed to bother her and at the time I took it as her looking to start a fight and just let it go.  The more I thought of what she said, it occurred to me that she was not looking to argue she just doesn't get it.  She is not alone.  I believe that she, and many others, look at the crucifixion of Jesus as a loss instead of the victory that it really is.  They view the crucifixion as something that was done to Jesus, when they should be looking at it as something that Jesus allowed to happen so that our sins would be forgiven.  Without the forgiveness of our sins there is no path to God, for as long as we carry the stain of sin we cannot stand in the presence of God.  Jesus allowed himself to be crucified so that we would be forgiven and would be able to spend eternity in heaven with God.  This is the son of God we are talking about after all, if he did not want to allow it to happen then all he would have had to do would be to say no I will not allow this and the scourging would not have wounded him, the nails would not have pierced his skin.