Sweetest Name I Know

Jesus...it really is the sweetest name I know. Just the mention of His name brings me peace and comfort. But, around the world this may not be the case. The mention of His name can cause friction and upset many people. Speaking His name may land you in jail in many countries or even death as a martyr for the cause of Christ. He is cursed and His image is spat upon while those Who love Him are comforted and find great joy at the sound of His name...two opposing views for a man Who walked the face of this earth more than 2000 years ago and spoke of the greatest Love ever given.

As we've been leading up to the celebration of this holy Easter weekend my Pastor has asked us to consider the fact that we are not our own and I have been pondering that for weeks now. What does that mean for me personally? What does that look like? How do we communicate that to a world that is driven by selfish ambition?

We've all heard the Easter story since we were children but when you really study it with "new eyes" and contemplate it and realize what Jesus went through in the garden before He was crucified...it was so excruciating that He sweat drops of blood. He was all man and all God so He knew what was coming and knew His Father would have to forsake Him...what agony. It was so much more than the physical pain He would endure and He did it willingly. Can you imagine the humiliation and degradation of leaving Heaven's glory to come to Earth to take on all the sin and filth past, present, and future of every human ever to be born? Every rapist, murderer, child molester, liar, thief, adulterer, gossiper, back stabber, yes, now we're getting down to the every day man and woman like you and me. As He prayed in the garden,"Father, if it be Your will take this cup from me; yet not my will but Yours be done," that was His moment where it was all settled.

They didn't take His life, He gave it willingly. There is a HUGE difference. So...when I give my life to Christ it is no longer mine, I give it willingly, it is not my own. It was bought with an extremely high price...the blood of the ONLY lamb Who could atone for my sin or yours or anyone who ever takes a breath on planet Earth. We can whine and complain, and I've done my share, till the end of time about our rights but that won't change the facts of what Jesus did at Calvary and one day the Bible says in Philippians 2:10, That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NIV

When I look at it like that, I'm happy to give myself to Him. Anyone Who would give themselves for me like that, loves me with a love that is unconditional. After all, He created me in the first place. Doesn't it stand to reason that He would have a plan to redeem His creation...the very ones He placed in the original garden? Therefore, I am happy to give Him my entire life, for He is trustworthy and faithful. He has proven Himself over and over to me.

For me, it goes back to Jesus in the garden when He prayed "not My will but Yours"...I want this to be the cry of my heart. Not my will but Yours.

Have a blessed Easter,
Cindy