…good friday…

I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. (John 17:15-19)

The truth of God’s word, the Bible, is our only hope. Anecdotes, nostalgia, or cliche imagery is empty. Visions of Titus with angels’ wings, Jesus rocking him to sleep, the idea of Titus looking down on us from heaven, and countless other ways we try to comfort ourselves, are simply without meaning. It is all about Jesus. About who He is, and what He is doing to bring Himself glory. We humbly bow down to Him as our King, and ask that He would use these events to sanctify our hearts, to change us into people that are more loving, more compassionate, more gracious, more merciful, more zealous for His cause. Truth alone holds the answers. His truth.

Today we reflect on and attach ourselves to the reality of the cross. Jesus walked the long and slow path to death, knowing each step of the way, that His choice to die was for the sake of our eternal souls. He knew the depths of each of our sins. Our world allows us to hide who we really are, but we can be sure that Jesus knows just how selfish and sinful we are at the core of our being. It is the scariest thing to know that someone out there knows the fullness of my depravity. I have shared many dark and disgusting thoughts and motives I have had with Renee’, and she has done the same. But there is one who knows me in my sin on a level that no person ever could, and that is Jesus, and in the end He chose to suffer for me so I wouldn’t have to. It is profound, and beautiful, yet rejected by so many.

we count it a unique privilege to remember the death of Jesus today. His death is far greater in importance than the death of Titus. His death and resurrection make it possible for Titus to have life after death. We cling to this, we throw ourselves against it in our time of despair, and it gives us hope. We long for the truth of the cross, the truth of the gospel. Titus’ life and his death are serving as a metaphor, though not a perfect one, for what Jesus has done. I would not have the courage, or the unconditional love to give my son up so that others could have eternal life. But God did, and He chose for us that we would give Titus up, in the only hope that lives would be saved. If only one person comes to know Jesus as a result of losing our boy, it will have been worth it. I can only say such things and mean them if the Holy Spirit is real and is inside of me, and I assure you, He is.

This week will never be the same for us, and we will never take communion the same. So many things will of course never be the same, but in particular we will feel the death of Jesus more from this point on than we ever could have. That is a small piece of grace, one of those concepts that only members of His kingdom can understand. It is part of the saving of our souls. Tonight we were led in worship by one of our dearest friends, Matt Gibson. His posturing before God matched perfectly with where we are right now. We are blessed by our relationships, by the body of Christ working all around us, both inside, and outside the walls of our own church. The church truly has nothing to do with any building, but the weaving of stories under the umbrella of THE story.

Thank you Jesus for your life, death, and resurrection. You sacrificed more than I could ever experience, even in losing a son. You are the sympathetic high priest. EVERYTHING I once held dear, I count it all as loss, lead me to the cross…