Dying on Purpose

I have a deep appreciation and love for the men and women of our armed forces. My grandfather, one of my best friends, was in the Navy. My father was a staff sergeant in the United States Air Force and my both of my nephews serve. I enjoy war and military movies and one of the best I've seen is Act of Valor. It follows a group of Navy Seals on a series of missions to bring down a threat to National security. These men aren't just coworkers, they are a family. At the end of the movie a man waiting to get back to his pregnant wife, jumps on a grenade to save his men. It wasn't an accident, he with a clear mind and deep intention laid his body across an explosive device in an attempt to spare those he loved.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for 

one's friend. John 15:13

It's so easy to forget. The image of the cross has become archaic to the world and wall decor to much of the body. We've seen it a hundred times and it becomes like the beautiful flowers on a drive to work, seen but not really. Imagine Jesus if you will standing between you and a crazed gunman. Picture Jesus laying is blameless body atop a grenade, but not just any grenade, one that had your name on it. He knew what He was doing that day, over 2000 years ago. He probably knew it more than He had ever known anything is His whole life of flesh and bone. Every ounce of blood that he bleed was on purpose...it was with purpose.

I do not believe in accidents, and almost nothing happens by chance. It is not by accident that the priests would sprinkle the lambs blood, on the veil in the temple, seven times and that day He bleed seven different times. It was no coincidence that they had whipped Him 39 times and scientist say there are 39 root causes for every disease. If the point of all of this was solely death to bring salvation, God could have organized a much quicker, less humiliating way for His Son to die. But nothing that happened that day was quick, nothing was by chance. He died for our salvation, but He suffered for our healing and rose again 3 days later for our freedom.

I submit to you tonight that Jesus was real flesh and real bone. That He willingly poured out His blood and endured humiliation not just to save you from Hell itself, but the Hell you live in.  No mountain of shame is to high for Him to climb to you. No pit of sin and depravity to low for Him to reach down and pull you out. No ocean of disbelief and doubt to wide for Him to find you. His love is more real and more vast than the waters of 50 seas and the sands of 100 desserts. If you had been the only one, He still would have jumped on that grenade for you.