Day 29 – Journey to the Cross – Rev. Jonathan Rager
Hello First Family,
Code Word: HAMMER
Have you ever hit yourself with a hammer? As a teenager growing up on a farm, I was always in a hurry to finish a job. While repairing the roof of our barn, I missed the nail and hit my finger hard. It immediately turned black & blue and my fingernail had a dent in it. The end result of my foolish rushing of the job was a visit to the doctor and having a hole drilled into my fingernail releasing pressure and fluid. “Ouch”
A hammer can be used for good as well as bad. Consider the hammer that nailed Jesus to the cross. When we think about the horrible pain it caused our Lord and Savior, we immediately think of the hammer as a bad use of this tool by cruel and foolish people. But if we examine what Jesus did for us, His words on the cross and how this had to happen to pay for our sins and rescue us from eternal fire and separation from God, we must admit that the use of this hammer was for good. However, it just does not make any sense that God would want to do that for us. John 3:16 is the most amazing verse in the whole Bible. “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.
By the way; the pain that I experienced with my finger is NOTHING compared to the pain and agony that Jesus endured for me. No one has ever, or will ever, come close to having that kind of pain. Join me in thanking our Lord for His sacrifice.
See you tomorrow on our Journey to the Cross.
Rev. Jonathon Rager