Having been given the opportunity to share during an adult Bible study, I chose to share from a book I was just finishing entitled Exquisite Agony : Healing for Christians who have been hurt by other Christians written by Gene Edwards. Mr. Edwards takes us through a insightful approach to the Crucifixion, scene by scene. We read Luke 23: 26-43 - the familiar Scriptures of Christ's crucifixion. Then I began to read a few excerpts from Exquisite Agony.
It is the hardest thing to believe that a Christian can treat another Christian so horribly. When I finally excepted Christ and turned away from my godless, self-absorbed life, I entered into this new world - the Christian family (God's family). It was amazing to me. Everyone appeared happy - all the time. Everybody hugged everybody as they entered the church. Everyone shook everyone's hand during the opening time of worship, and everyone loved and supported the pastor - at least, that is what my naive, newly dedicated-to-the-Lord eyes perceived. But it doesn't take long to find out that it is not always as it appears. Shortly after conversion, it dawns on you, being a part of the Christian family is just that - a family. Like most families, there are arguments, disagreements, and unfortunately, some fights. These daunting moments we have with other Christians, those who claim to be our brothers and sisters in Christ, can leave us paralyzed in our walk with the Lord, if we do not understand their purposes.
Gene Edwards refers to these hurtful moments as crucifixion moments in a believer's life. He states that all crucifixions are the same - rejection, pain, unfairness, undeserving, rumors, innuendos, demeaning, belittling, loss of friends, and so on. If you remain and go through it - you have been crucified with Christ, but if you walk away from it and do not handle it as Christ did, then you have only been mistreated. The statement Gene makes on page fifty echos in my thoughts over and over still - "You happen to be a follower of Jesus Christ, are you not? Odd things happen to those who follow Him who is The Crucified One. The very word crucifixion implies that you, His follower, are to receive from the hands of others that which is unfair, unjust, undeserved. The word also implies that God is the author of that crucifixion, and hidden in its ordeal is a grand purpose that cannot be visibly seen." Why did I ever think my walk with the Lord would not involve a crucifixion of some kind. If Christ, according to the Word, calls us to pick up our cross daily, surely it means it will eventually lead to a "Golgatha" moment - a crucifixion. It seems to me that every Christian will face a crucifixion at some point in his or her walk. How you handle it will determine the outcome of your spiritual condition. Mr. Edwards comments that most do not choose to be crucified. There is much truth to his statement. We have witnessed people walk away or walk out. Instead of remaining on crucifixion's path and realizing that a beautiful transformation awaits them; they abort it. They walk away or walk out, because the process of transformation and its demands are too much. It requires a look inward at oneself instead of outward at others. It means the blame game comes to an end and we take ownership of mistakes made. It isn't easy, but it is rewarding in ways we can not imagine or see as we go through the experience.
The most difficult thing about a crucifixion is realizing that it is God who authors it, and chooses the brethren to accomplish it. Remember, Christ was crucified by the brethren. So to, when we are going through a crucifying ordeal it will most likely be at the hands of our fellow believers. We cannot expect less than what the Lord Jesus Christ received. Christ said in John 15: 20, "Remember the words I have spoken to you: no servant is greater than his master." He goes on to tell them that the world will persecute them. It is difficult to think that it is the brethren who crucify. Did not Christ come into Jerusalem one week before his crucifixion, being praised and hailed King as he rode in on a donkey, but only to be crucified by the very same people? And why is it that we expect better treatment than Christ?
After the Bible study came to an end, all the children entered the sanctuary. My son and youngest daughter came directly to me, arguing with one another over a matter trivial to me but important to them. I was needed to settle their argument over who was first (It always boils down to who was first). When I settled the argument, my daughter did not like the outcome. She protested, stating the unfairness of the situation. Having just finished discussing the words penned on page fifty of Gene Edwards' Exquisite Agony, I could only respond to my daughter with this one question: "Was it fair that Jesus was crucified?" My daughter became silent and contemplative. With her head bent down in sorrow, she responded with one word: "No." She understood the question. She understood that her moment of unfairness, her crucifixion, did not compare to the unfairness Jesus faced on the cross. My little girl understood. How do I know, because the arguing stopped immediately. She turned around, happily scanned the room looking for her friends, and darted off in their direction. Maybe there would cease to be quarrels, factions, dissensions, and divisions among the brethren if, we too, took time to understand the question.
It is the hardest thing to believe that a Christian can treat another Christian so horribly. When I finally excepted Christ and turned away from my godless, self-absorbed life, I entered into this new world - the Christian family (God's family). It was amazing to me. Everyone appeared happy - all the time. Everybody hugged everybody as they entered the church. Everyone shook everyone's hand during the opening time of worship, and everyone loved and supported the pastor - at least, that is what my naive, newly dedicated-to-the-Lord eyes perceived. But it doesn't take long to find out that it is not always as it appears. Shortly after conversion, it dawns on you, being a part of the Christian family is just that - a family. Like most families, there are arguments, disagreements, and unfortunately, some fights. These daunting moments we have with other Christians, those who claim to be our brothers and sisters in Christ, can leave us paralyzed in our walk with the Lord, if we do not understand their purposes.
Gene Edwards refers to these hurtful moments as crucifixion moments in a believer's life. He states that all crucifixions are the same - rejection, pain, unfairness, undeserving, rumors, innuendos, demeaning, belittling, loss of friends, and so on. If you remain and go through it - you have been crucified with Christ, but if you walk away from it and do not handle it as Christ did, then you have only been mistreated. The statement Gene makes on page fifty echos in my thoughts over and over still - "You happen to be a follower of Jesus Christ, are you not? Odd things happen to those who follow Him who is The Crucified One. The very word crucifixion implies that you, His follower, are to receive from the hands of others that which is unfair, unjust, undeserved. The word also implies that God is the author of that crucifixion, and hidden in its ordeal is a grand purpose that cannot be visibly seen." Why did I ever think my walk with the Lord would not involve a crucifixion of some kind. If Christ, according to the Word, calls us to pick up our cross daily, surely it means it will eventually lead to a "Golgatha" moment - a crucifixion. It seems to me that every Christian will face a crucifixion at some point in his or her walk. How you handle it will determine the outcome of your spiritual condition. Mr. Edwards comments that most do not choose to be crucified. There is much truth to his statement. We have witnessed people walk away or walk out. Instead of remaining on crucifixion's path and realizing that a beautiful transformation awaits them; they abort it. They walk away or walk out, because the process of transformation and its demands are too much. It requires a look inward at oneself instead of outward at others. It means the blame game comes to an end and we take ownership of mistakes made. It isn't easy, but it is rewarding in ways we can not imagine or see as we go through the experience.
The most difficult thing about a crucifixion is realizing that it is God who authors it, and chooses the brethren to accomplish it. Remember, Christ was crucified by the brethren. So to, when we are going through a crucifying ordeal it will most likely be at the hands of our fellow believers. We cannot expect less than what the Lord Jesus Christ received. Christ said in John 15: 20, "Remember the words I have spoken to you: no servant is greater than his master." He goes on to tell them that the world will persecute them. It is difficult to think that it is the brethren who crucify. Did not Christ come into Jerusalem one week before his crucifixion, being praised and hailed King as he rode in on a donkey, but only to be crucified by the very same people? And why is it that we expect better treatment than Christ?
After the Bible study came to an end, all the children entered the sanctuary. My son and youngest daughter came directly to me, arguing with one another over a matter trivial to me but important to them. I was needed to settle their argument over who was first (It always boils down to who was first). When I settled the argument, my daughter did not like the outcome. She protested, stating the unfairness of the situation. Having just finished discussing the words penned on page fifty of Gene Edwards' Exquisite Agony, I could only respond to my daughter with this one question: "Was it fair that Jesus was crucified?" My daughter became silent and contemplative. With her head bent down in sorrow, she responded with one word: "No." She understood the question. She understood that her moment of unfairness, her crucifixion, did not compare to the unfairness Jesus faced on the cross. My little girl understood. How do I know, because the arguing stopped immediately. She turned around, happily scanned the room looking for her friends, and darted off in their direction. Maybe there would cease to be quarrels, factions, dissensions, and divisions among the brethren if, we too, took time to understand the question.
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