Inspirational Article From Joanne Lowe Index of Writings by Joanne Lowe on Gospel Web

IT REALLY HAPPENED

“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

Isaiah 53: 2 - 7 King James Version

We talk about it; we sing about it; we preach about it; we write about it; and we read about it but I don’t think it has ever really penetrated our minds and it certainly hasn’t lodged in the depths of our hearts the horror, agony and despair that our precious Saviour suffered on that cross of torture for us. It really happened! It is not just a story from the Bible. He was beaten, spat upon, cursed, rejected and treated more cruelly than anybody has ever been or will ever be. If we ever grasp the love of our dear Saviour for us and the sacrifice that He made for us, I don’t believe that we will ever say anything cruel or do anything unkind to anyone again.

I have a dear friend, Brother Dennis, back in Texas who every year allowed them to put him on the cross as he portrayed Jesus being crucified for our sins. I asked him once how it made him feel to play the part of Jesus. He replied “It humbles me and throws a spotlight so bright in my heart that all of the things that makes Jesus unhappy comes into full view and I have to repent of them and ask His forgiveness every year before I agree to play the part”. Brother Dennis also told me that he has to go to the chiropractor every year because of the pain that he goes through even that short time on the cross. Multiply the pain that Brother Dennis suffers a hundred billion times and it wouldn’t even come close to the pain that our Saviour endured as He hung there paying a price that He didn’t owe but that we could never pay.

It really did happen; He really did go through all that torture and cruelty for you. However, He is not dead; He arose victoriously! Has the reality of the risen Saviour penetrated your hearts? If so, have you accepted the amazing and unconditional love that He offers to you? You may have accepted Him as your personal Saviour, but have you fallen in love with Him? Does He come first in your life before anything and everybody? Do you know what makes Him happy and what makes Him sad? Do you laugh with Him and cry when you hear His precious name being abused? Have you grasped what really happened in your heart or is it just a story to you?

Joanne Lowe

June 18, 2007

Back To Joanne Lowe Index