Saturday, October 11, 2008

Pain Paradigm

Have you ever taken joy in the pain of another? It hurts me to watch grown men knock each other silly in cage fights and boxing. I always wonder why someone would want to put themselves through that kind of torture, again and again. Have you ever taken joy in someone being murdered? 99.99% of the population would probably come back with a resounding "No." But, 100% of Christians take joy in the murder of Jesus Christ. You are probably saying to yourself, "His rocker is definitely tipping back on its legs now?"

The band Kutless, an alternative Christian band, produced the song "Passion" that celebrates the pain and killing of Jesus Christ. This is a hard concept to wrap our minds around, but think about the words. "Jesus endured the pain; Paying a debt I owed and created a paradox in me." Believing in the saving blood and grace of Jesus Christ truly highlights a "paradox" that those who believe can understand, but is not out of reach for those who do not. Here is the kicker lyrics though: "Nail pierced hands they run with blood; A splitting brow forced by the thorns; His face is writhing with the pain yet it's comforting to me." Now look at the picture behind the title of this blog. I have broken down crying over these lyrics before because I finally got what Christ did for all of us and why I take joy in His death.

Everyday that we celebrate Christ and the forgiving power of the crucifixion, is a day that we, in reality, take joy in the agonizing pain of another human. Granted that human was God incarnate, but he was still a human being. The hardest part is trying to explain the joys of celebrating this horrific scene to non-believers. I'm not saying that I jump for joy at Easter and scream,"Yeah, Jesus was murdered and it hurt Him really bad!" The hurt part is not why we celebrate. The grace part is why we celebrate because each of us knows that we should be the ones up on that cross, bearing the pain of nails through our wrists and feet, a dingy crown of thorns jammed into our scalps, and a scourging we could only describe as our worst nightmare.

We must take this picture and translate it into a palatable scene for those who do not believe. If we can be moved to do this, it only solidifies for non-believers why life will change when they take up that personal relationship with Him. It's our time to show why Christ laid down His life for His friends.

Shifting my own paradigm,
Jesus Freak Out!

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