Dear Lord, I am yours. Please guide my thoughts and my words as I seek your heart. I give all that I have to be filled with all that you are.
Please soften our hearts to hear the truth from your Spirit.
Each Easter we reflect on the life and sacrifice of our Lord and celebrate His resurrection and victory over death. I pray this reflection becomes a daily reset for our heart to remind us of the great love and sacrifice of the Father.
On Easter Sunday 2016, Julie, the girls, and I gathered to watch “The Passion” musical, hosted by Tyler Perry. As it started, I asked God to see His heart. He answered, “Would you see sin differently if it were your child that had to die for sin?” At that moment, I saw a vision of my daughter, Kristen, looking back at us as she walked away with Jesus. My spirit knew God was sharing a glimpse into His foreknowledge in answer to my prayer.
Exactly two months later, she was hit by a car while crossing the street as she was leaving a nearby festival. She went home with Jesus early the next morning.
I believe He shared this vision so I could better understand His heart regarding the loss He experienced when Jesus died for our sin. He was allowing me a taste of the struggle between sin and grace. For the first time, I was able to begin to grasp the cost of our sin to the Father. It had always been difficult for me to understand His sacrifice… After all, He is God! I realized I had settled for a partial understanding of His story. God reminded me that He created us in His image and the love we feel for our children is an imperfect reflection of the perfect love He has for His Son and for us.
My heart was broken at the thought of His sacrifice as a Father… And it remains broken today!
“Sin” breaks God’s heart.
Sin brought suffering and death into the world. Sin caused the suffering and death of my daughter.
“Sin” caused the suffering and death of Jesus!
Our sin breaks God’s heart! Our sin hurts us and it hurts those we love! Our sin affects everything we touch.
Jesus wept because they rejected the Truth and the Light and He knew the suffering that would follow.
“As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, ‘If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.’” (Luk 19:41-42)
“The Lord says, “These people worship me with their mouths and honor me with their lips. But their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is based on rules made by humans. … How horrible it will be for those who try to hide their plans from the LORD. Their deeds are done in the dark, and they say, “No one can see us” and “No one can recognize us.”” (Isa 29:13,15 GW)
