He knew and still continued His walk....

I am currently sitting in Watertown, Wisconsin. A smaller town in Wisconsin where there are more cows and 25mph speed limit signs than almost any other place I have been before. You may ask, why am I here? That is a good question however, it is a question for another blog. :)

Yesterday I grabbed a flight from Kansas City to Milwaukee than drove the remaining distance to Watertown. There is not much to do on a flight since for some reason man has still yet to figure out how to make cell phones work at 30,000ft. Baffles me - but I'll move on. So I pulled out my trusty iPad and began to read a book that I started over a year ago and never finished: Humility by CJ Mahaney. Now many of you know that I am not a fan of reading but Mahaney's books have been some of the few that I have finished. He is an amazing author and not afraid to say what needs to be said. His books have seemed different to me. They do not tell me "this is how you must live to be a good Christian!". But rather, "Look to Jesus and let Who He is shape your life." I guess this post is a continuing spur from the previous post about the Character of God but it is so applicable to every area of my life that it has been in my thought's almost continuously.

Mahaney focuses on two things in this book: Jesus and the cross. Honestly - what more should we focus on?

The Cross a place for the lowest of criminals to be slain, back in Roman Empire time. Known for it's excruciating, painful, slow killing process, it was the place where my Lord the sinless man and King of all things, Jesus, died. Mahaney depicts the journey of Jesus, to Calvary, as Jesus leading the way with His disciples following. Now, let's be real here. Imagine you would know that you were going to be deceived and turned into the government, for a crime that you did not commit, by someone who said they cared about you and wished to learn from you, in a certain city. Add on top you would be slain for the every crime and wrong doing of every person who has ever lived and will ever live on this planet, knowing that you have done no wrong. Would you be "leading the pack" of people, one of which would be the deceiver who would turn you over? Would you be gracious and kind to them, or would you coward away and run? This thought blew my mind. Jesus had known from eternity past what those next hours would be like and feel like. He knew exactly how they would unfold and how hard they would be. He knew no one would understand what His pain would be like. He knew His own Father would execute Him for the sins of the world by the people that He Himself created and loves....and yet, Jesus continued His walk toward Calvary. As Mahaney puts it: "Jesus walked; Where? To Calvary. Why? To die."

I feel as if once again, I have taken for granted the cross. I'm pretty sure I freaked the lady out next to me yesterday on the plane when I teared up. Thank goodness for the complimentary cookie on the flight, or else I would not have had a napkin to shyishly wipe away the few tears. But I digress. Jesus did not go into His death unknowingly. He knew all, yet He chose to allow it to happen. Because He loves me. He did not chose the easy way out. He did not chose an easy death. He endured ALL of the wrath of sin that His Father would inflict for all sins in a matter of a few hours.

CJ's point in bringing up the cross in this book is twofold. Number one - because as redeemed Christians, the cross changed us. It made us new. It completed us. The death that happened there brought us life and forever in all time that will continue to change us. Always for the better I must add. It was there that we found our Savior and Lord. It was there that I found my Best Friend for times of joy, and a Comfort in times of difficulty. I am forever indebted to the one that paid a debt that was not His to pay.

Secondly, and lastly, at the Cross we see the ultimate example of Someone being a servant. Someone who was completely humble. Once again I go back to my previous blog post, Jesus is the perfect example of everything. Jesus was the ultimate example of humility. He needs only Himself to show us how we ought to be in life in all areas. That cool isn't? Sometimes we need music to express our mood or actions in a relationship to prove our love toward someone. But Jesus doesn't. All He needs is Himself and all we have to do is look with an open heart and mind. He will show us.

I highly recommend this book. It's pretty cheap and an amazing read. Probably one you will read over and over again. The idea is simple: Jesus and the Cross, the depth of those topics are for a lifetimes journey of finding out!