~ "Paid in full"...

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. (Mark 15:37)

And in his last breath of mortal life, he opened the door to eternity for all of us! Our debt had been paid! Why? Because he loves us!

His focus never wavered! He knew what the plan was and followed it through! He was human! He asked for it not to happen, just like any of us who are facing impending doom. The difference being, he prayed to the father and said "not my will, but yours" AND he meant it!

How often do we pray and ask God to change the course of our lives and say the words "not my will, but yours", yet in our silent, human hearts, we want only what we want and not really what God wants? Jesus knew only too well what it means to be a human being with human wants and desires. He, too, knows that "easier, softer way". We are blessed because even through his pain and suffering, he continued what was started! We know, intellectually, that our pain will pass and our blessings will follow whatever trial we are experiencing. These, for us, are small sacrifices. We could never have taken the place of that man! No one could! So today, when life seems to be slinging arrows at my heart and rocks at my head, I will remember that moment in Jesus' life when I placed nails in his hands and feet, a crown of thorns on his head and pierced his side with a sword. He knows my pain all too well and he has set me free. Jesus paid it all!