50 Cents, $10,000 or More
Dear Champions,
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Isaiah 53:7 He (Jesus) was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
We need to have a sense of Jesus' love to be changed, and His suffering is tied to our value. On the cross He didn't cry out about the nails or wounds. He cried out about being forsaken. He was cast away for us, and unless we see how much He suffered for us we'll never appreciate his love.
If you come home and a guest tells you that a package came with payment due and he paid it, then you'll want to know how much it was so you'll know how thankful to be. If it's 50 cents you're grateful, but if it's an IRS bill for $10,000 you will have a different reaction. You don't how grateful to be until you know the cost.
How much does God love you? Look at what he paid. If you don't believe in hell, but that God loves everybody, will that change you? No, it hasn't yet. If you don't believe in hell, then you'll never know how much He loves you. Jesus took hell for us because He values us that much.
Pastor Barnhouse, when passing a truck on the way to his wife's funeral, saw the shadow of the truck and asked his kids, "Would you rather be hit by the truck or the shadow of the truck?" The kids obviously said that they would rather be hit by the shadow of the truck. Then he explained to his small children that Jesus was hit by the truck so that we only have to be hit by the shadow of the truck.
Champions, have a Happy Easter!-David Vining
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