J E S U S

We’ve been talking about perspective last few weeks and I realised that I hadn’t written anything for this week. Each time I thought of a bible character, I was like nah, they are great but I just couldn’t write about them for some reason. Now I know why. I had forgotten its Easter week, *gasp* lol. So, who better to write about than Jesus?

Sometimes I think we forget that although Jesus is God, He was also fully human when He did His earth journey. Going to the cross was not easy for Jesus. We get stressed out about showing up to a meeting at work or taking that test or applying for that job but Jesus had to go to the cross and carry the sins of the whole world. The sins of anyone who has ever lived and will live. That was on Him. That’s a lot. Talk about stress! No wonder He sweat blood. 

Jesus went to the cross knowing full well that Father God, in His holiness could not stay close to Him. That for the first time ever, Him and His Father would be separated by sin. Sin which was not His. We see Jesus in the garden praying in Luke 22:42, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” What a prayer!

What made Jesus go through with the cross? Firstly, He completely trusted Father God and put His will above His own. Secondly, I think we can find our answer in Hebrews 12:2 which says, “We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!”

In order for us to gain heavenly perspective, we need to take our eyes off the natural realm and focus our attention and expectation on God. Jesus fixed His heart not on the agony of the cross but on what would come out of it. Jesus fixed His eyes not on what was temporary- pain, suffering, agony, shame, rejection, abandonment and separation from His Father but on the joy of having you and I as His. How beautiful is that? 

I believe as Jesus went to the cross, He saw us not bound and enslaved by sin but free in Him. I believe that as Jesus went to the cross and shed His blood, He saw us- not riddled by sickness and disease but healed by His blood. As Jesus hung on the cross and endured our Father’s rejection and abandonment, He saw us accepted and loved and reunited with our Father. Jesus is the bridge that connects us to our Father for we were once estranged by sin but now we can run into His Presence and cry Abba Father!

Jesus saw all of that and it helped Him endure a painful death on the cross for you and I. We may encounter difficult moments or seasons in our lives. One thing we must do is not to fix our eyes on the difficult moment but to fix our eyes on Jesus and ask Him to show us what’s on the other side of that moment or season. 

Sometimes we don’t have the benefit of knowing exactly what’s on the other side of our pain and suffering or the purpose of it like Jesus did but we have to trust God. Jesus had never died on a cross- there were no test runs so I am sure even He had to trust that Father God could do what He said He would do and raise Him from the dead. Now, on the other side of the cross we are free and He is exalted and lifted up and we can all sing, “All hail King Jesus! All hail the Saviour of the world!”

Being Christian doesn’t exempt us from life, life happens to us all but we can have God’s perspective to see that there is always hope in Jesus. Even when all looks dark and bleh, joy comes with the morning. Nothing is impossible for our God. We can have joy and peace even in the middle of a storm. Having and maintaining our godly perspective takes faith. So keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith.  

I hope you have a blessed Easter. 

Love and blessings

Melissa Tsingano.