So I watched "The Passion of the Christ" last night. And I am on my back deck tonight thinking. Think about this. In the movie, they have beaten him to near death and when they first take him to his cross, Jesus clings to it, and the thief chastised him for embracing his own cross. Mocking him for doing so. Then Christ gave all he had to carry that cross which weighed as much as him.. They beat him while he did. It came to the point that his physical body couldn't carry it any longer, so a man was ordered to carry it with him. Yet Christ still clung to the cross. Do you know why? Because he knew at the other end of that short journey was OUR freedom. Not his.... OURS..... with every single step, with every drop of blood, with every single tear, he knew he was one moment closer to being at the right hand of the Father and his mission complete to free us all. The man embraced the cross. Begged God to forgive the men nailing him to it. Begged God to forgive those that had beaten him with whips and canes and hammered a crown of thorns on his head. He embraced it all.... for US...... And now, when times get hard and life gets even slightly uncomfortable, we claim that "God isn't listening and won't take my burden" as if we even know what a real burden is... How many times would we cling to the proverbial cross for another and suffer as he did to free them from the pain? Would we ever do it at all? Maybe for our own child? Maybe? As you lay down tonight, pray a prayer of thanks. Not for the normal things. Not tonight. Tonight, pray a special prayer of thanks that he held on to that cross and carried it as far as his mortal body would allow... because that took more dedication than any of us could give for anyone. By the time you wake up in the morning, he will have risen, 2000 years ago. He will have beat death. 2000 years ago, all the sin you and I will ever commit was paid for because he clung to that cross like it was a lifeline.... not for him... But for you and me.