By Alfred Turley
Several years ago I started a personal tradition during
Easter week of watching the movie, The Passion of the Christ. I’ve never been the same since it came out,
and I consider watching it a painful and powerful reminder of what my sin cost Him.
But I particularly remember the first year of this
tradition, when I was watching in my own living room, alone. I remember the flogging scene which is
particularly brutal and painful. And I
was moved to tears… lots of them.
I remember just feeling so bad at what I put Him
through. The older I get the more I
realize how far from His standard I
live each and every day. I fail to love,
fail to obey, fail to forgive, fail to believe, fail to trust. I just FAIL.
And trust me, I’m not beating myself up.
It’s the truth. In all of
us. When we compare ourselves to Jesus,
and the standard He set which was what God had hoped for all of us, we see we
are so far from that expectation.
And yet He loves us,
and in the cross and resurrection He saves us.
In spite of ourselves. How can this be????
I remember in that moment of dramatic tears and weeping,
seeing and knowing my own failure, I cried out, “What can I do in response to
this love, Lord? How can I respond to
what you did for me?”
And I heard it. Deep
inside me, the voice of the Holy Spirit welled up and rang throughout my soul…
“Be free.”
Indeed, “It was for freedom that Christ came to set us free”
– Gal. 5:1
Free from the slavery of sin and self-centeredness! Free from the loneliness of a life separated from
our Father’s love! Free from self-doubt
and fear that says, “I wonder if I really matter to Him?” I do matter! We do matter! We are
His treasure, the great inheritance of God!
Deuteronomy 32:9 indicates as such: “But
the LORD's portion is His people”
Today, how can we respond to Easter? Simple… Free yourself from whatever holds you
back from God. Accept the gift of the
cross and resurrection of Jesus. Free
yourself to know that you are loved and the
very treasure God came to save in human form. Love Him back, by enjoying and living the
abundant life and freedom He died to give you!
Be free! Happy
Easter!