Journey to the cross…

This week marks holy week, it commemorates one of the most poignant weeks for Christians, as we remember and follow the journey to the cross and celebrate the resurrection on Easter Sunday. The event that brings to mind so much about Jesus’ suffering as he was betrayed, arrested, wrongly accused, rejected, beaten, tortured and died for the cause which he did not commit; but all for love. A story which is made all the more scandalous when Jesus conquers death and resurrects three days later, as he had previously preached about (yet it was a shock even to his disciples who had followed him for 3 whole years).

‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son. that who so ever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.' - john 3:16

I'll remind myself of all that you’ve done

A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act. - Mahatma Gandhi

This Eastertime I’ve really being challenged to ponder on the true meaning of Easter, considering the cross and the price that Jesus paid on the cross for me. I have come to realize just how significant it is to revisit the cross, and to just sit there and marvel at Christ’s body just hanging there…in such an unimaginable pain, blood pouring as he looks across at the multitude of crowd just standing there and observing. I wonder what he was thinking. Some did not know really who he was, yet he died for them. Each and every one of them, he did not exclude anyone. To think that in his suffering, Jesus was reaching for me – now that’s what you call Sacrificial and unconditional love.

Love came down and rescued me

‘God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.' - Billy Graham

One thing that captivates me the most about this story which I have known and came to believe since my childhood is that it was through the act of love itself that lead Jesus to sacrifice his life for my sake, a sinner so guilty. I know you’re thinking, ‘YES, Furaha, we ALL know that. You’re clearly stating the obvious here’. Hear me out. I have been reminded afresh what the cross really means to me, and it has been a life-altering revelation. To think that Jesus’ death symbolises the perfect love ever written and that through his suffering, God was actually reaching out for me and drawing me closer to him blows me away. The fact that Jesus chose to endure the cross, for our sake (me and you) – that’s the true wonder of Easter.

I am Yours

God had brought me to my knees and made me acknowledge my own nothingness, and out of that knowledge I had been reborn. I was no longer the center of my life and therefore I could see God in everything. - Bede Griffiths

So what does it mean to really accept this true authentic gift of the cross in our lives? It means that ultimately our true identity is traced back to the cross. We are his, his alone and he is ours. That in remembering all that Jesus did for us on that cross should inspire us to want to live more like him. Dare to love, to give, to serve, to empty yourself as Christ did for you. Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ. To have our lives transformed by his love means that Jesus should be at the centre of everything we do, that his priorities should govern our actions, his passion drive our decision and his love direct our behaviour.

So my hope for you this Easter is that you may come to fully experience Christ’s love in a new and refreshing way.

Happy Easter to one and all in advance, much love... 

Fufu xoxo