My daughter and I did something really cool Easter night. We watched 'The Passion of the Christ' together. It was her first time to watch it, and as we watched I would stop the movie and explain things to her. I wanted her to be able to see in her mind what it means when she says Jesus took on the sins of the world; and that when we talk about 'Jesus dying on the cross for my sins' that she sees an accurate description of it. It was brutal and ugly...just like sin.
As Jesus was being beaten Elizabeth & I talked about how He took that beating with our faces in mind. He would have endured the cross if only the thief to His right would have accepted the grace only He offers. Christ experienced God the Father removing His presence and leaving Christ to face the consequences of sin alone. What a relief it had to have been for Him to say 'it is finished'. Notice He said 'it' is finished, and not 'I' am finished. The 'it' is the payment of sin for the world. The 'it' is that there is no more barrier between us and God, and that is why the vail in the temple tore.
The vail was the barrier between God & man. With the barrier gone we don't need to go through anyone to get to God; we only have to go through Christ. The phrase 'it is finished' was changed to 'it has begun'. Begun is: our personal relationship with Christ; our serving to advance His kingdom; and our ability to approach God our Father ourselves and hanging out with Him.
I am thankful for so many things. Besides what Christ did for me, I am thankful for my bible that I can read whenever I want, and that I don't have to guess what God meant when he gave us His word. I have Christ as my example and living explanation. How blessed we are! Thank you Jesus for everything you have done!
Counting my blessings with a thankful heart,
~ashley
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