Thursday 21 February 2019

Pivotal Moment


'Sacrifice' by Lindsey Attwood
 
            I've got
            the strongest feeling
            in my bones
            that this
            is a pivotal moment in history
                                  ...   ...
                                           Extract from 'Insight'

 

We're generally only aware of pivotal moments, moments in the past which made a significant difference to the future, after the event.  Jesus' death on the cross was surely the supreme pivotal moment, the 'hinge point of history', as Max Lucado describes it.  It was the event which brought fulfilment to Jesus's words that he had come to "set the people free" (Luke 4:18) - by enabling them to be forgiven from all that crippled them; guilt, remorse, shame, everything!

What a gift!  What a pivotal moment!  
 
the bright hot glow of flaming torches
fuelling the atmosphere of tension
but, the agony of the earlier Gethsemane moments
gone,
Jesus reflected
only calm acceptance:
his coming death
his very reason for living.               Extract from 'Arrest'
 

Jesus struggled with his calling at Gethsemane (and who wouldn't have done?) but he ultimately faced the cross with calm acceptance.  But how hard it can be for us to accept what Jesus has done for us - and to live into the freedom of forgiveness and new life.

How pivotal Calvary is for our own lives depends to a large extent on how deeply we allow ourselves to engage with the reality of all that it involved.  Imagining ourselves inside the story, as if we were actually there, can be extremely powerful and the meditations in 'The Gift of a Cross' could act as a springboard to help you to do that.  If you haven't picked up a copy yet, it's available here.  I've reduced the price to £3.50 because I'd love you to be blessed by it.
 
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