Day 24 - A Great Deal of Sobbing

[cwalker1]

Day 24 - A Great Deal of Sobbing

Honestly, I can't stand the site of blood, violence, or anything that would cause pain to people or animals. Up to now, I've been able to handle my own pain through various health issues. However, I struggle when my wife, family member or close friend is going through suffering. The author describes his encounter while slaughtering a lamb (163-164). His vivid description helped to place me on the scene. He writes that after the lamb throat was cut, "there was a great deal of sobbing as crimson liquid poured across the ashen gravel". This took me to the cross where Jesus was crucified. Jesus (like the lamb) did not fight nor attempt to resist his own slaughter. In Matthew 27:46 He cries out to the Father asking why He had forsaken Him. In that single moment Jesus allowed Himself to be punished and slaughtered in my place.

The cross is the central message of salvation. Without Jesus' sacrificial offering there is no church. There is no flock without the cross. There is no salvation or hope without the Father's sacrificial slaughter of His only begotten Son. Our pastoral leadership and integrity hinges on Calvary. We can forever tell dying souls about the Good Shepherd who allowed Himself to become a sacrificed lamb so that we can live. This also shows me that Jesus had to suffer and give His life before He could lead the universal church. Hebrew 5:8 says, "Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him". If I want to lead a local church like Jesus led, I must be willing to lead by sacrifice. Only God knows the sacrifices we may make. We do so joyfully because of His ultimate sacrifice.