At Our Worst
April 11, 2020
By Pastor Steve Peich
“Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals—one on His right, the other on His left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:32-34)
On Thursday night Jesus is arrested, unjustly accused and sentenced at a joke of a trial. He was abandoned and betrayed by His closest friends. By Friday He is mocked, spit upon, punched, beaten, whipped to shreds and then hung on a cross naked to slowly die. His final experiences on that Friday were abandonment, injustice, humiliation, degradation, and vile suffering.
Think about how crazy this all is. Here is God become flesh, who has done nothing but heal people, free people, enlighten people, and love people, yet at the end of the day humanity responds by throwing the worst they possible can at Him.
However, after experiencing the full force of human hatred and savage violence, this is what Jesus says: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)
Stop here for a moment to pause and breathe this in. How does this speak to you? Can you see this picture as those words are uttered? The ravaged body on the cross, the mangled face, the bloodied mouth, and the swollen lips? Can you hear the strain of His voice as He utters those words “Father forgive them”? If there is a more loving, gracious, or forgiving statement ever made in human history, I do not know it.
If there is one thing we see at the Cross, it’s that the Christian life is not about how to live such “good lives” so we can get God to like us or love us. Rather, it is about our awakening to the fact that He already loves us even at our worst.
Through Easter God says, “The worst you can do to Me can find grace and forgiveness in My unfailinglove. Your hatred, your moral failures, your bitterness, greed, and sin can find mercy and compassion in My eternal embrace.”
May you discover (or rediscover) the mind-blowing grace of Jesus today and may God give you the courage and power to bestow that grace to others in a rebellious, hostile, and sin-soaked world.
Prayer: Lord, help us to internalize Your amazing love into our deepest pain, sin, and struggles. Free us from the condemning voices that haunt our minds and actions. Let see ourselves and our tough to love neighbors through Your unfailing love, grace, and forgiveness. Amen.
Share this with a friend: