Month: April 2014

6 Feet Forever: A Good Friday Devotional

Just as the townspeople were finishing breakfast, word began to spread that Jesus had been arrested. Eternity’s trial was in session on the steps of Fort Antonia. Just outside the walls, two little boys, short of breath, ran back to their father, “Papa, it sounds like a riot is breaking out, the crowd is yelling, and the governor is trying to calm them!” “Stay close to me boys; we are going to stop here outside the walls until we know things have calmed down,” said Simon.

It was about 8:30, when the execution parade made its way past Simon and his boys. Their Passover journey had taken an unexpected turn. Instead of simply celebrating the Passover, Simon was now face to face with the Passover lamb. Simon Peter had boasted earlier that he was willing to die for Jesus. But now, as Jesus fell beneath the weight of the beam, another Simon wrapped his dark hands around the cursed wood on which God’s son would absorb the wrath for humanity’s sin and bring forgiveness and grace to all who believe.

The death march featured three victims: the Son of God and two men simply known as thieves. These two men were born into a world of Roman savagery. As children, their parents had hopes and dreams for their lives. Maybe they would be so lucky as to meet the Messiah. The run-ins with Rome were fun: anything to make a soldier’s life more miserable. But then one day, they were found and bound. Deemed unfit to serve a master, power a ship, or dig the roads; the only good these men had to offer was to serve as a warning to all to never mess with the legions of Rome.

Crucifixion was no stranger to any of the three men. They knew its shriek, its gore, its meaning, its end. The wonderment would soon be over: will they use nails or ropes? how long will I hang? will anyone care that I’m dying? It was about 9:00 when the hammers began to ring. The gospel writers describe it best with three words, “They crucified him.”

The scene was dripping with anger. Hardened soldiers gambled for possessions. Religious leaders piously taunted the very God they claimed to worship. How dark is a heart that delights in the cross?

“In the same way, the criminals kept taunting him.” Soon the black drops of anger had saturated the sky. Through the darkness came a voice of grace, “Father forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.”

Hanging six feet from God, the clinched soul, broken dreams, and dark abandonment of one man’s life, began to pour out. The thief began to blaspheme Jesus spewing vileness so reprehensible his tortured body became the reflection of his heart. This man was minutes from death; his life deemed worthless. Soon, all evidence of his days would vanish, but instead of embracing grace, he chose to take his anger to the grave. He died six feet from God, suffocated in his sin. He and God would remain apart forever.

Hanging six feet from God was another angry man. Minutes from death, he had lived a life that no one would remember. His life had been officially proclaimed as worthless. He had nothing to give God, nothing with which to negotiate. All he could do is open his clinched fist of anger and request to be remembered. Wrapped in death’s cold embrace, he met grace through the suffering love of his substitute. He is mere man’s greatest witness to Calvary’s collision of horror and love. He died six feet from God, but remains with God forever. How full is the heart that finds life in the cross?

 

Lash Banks is Lead Pastor at Murphy Road Baptist Church (murphychurch.com). Lash’s weekly podcast/sermon can be heard at http://www.buzzsprout.com/17504

Dad Life: Lessons from a Fence Post

For the past two years, my daughters and I have been at war with a wobbly fence post. Made from the lowest quality pine the home-builder could find, this fence post has been tasked with a most important job: to provide security to my children and keep the neighborhood from enduring the antics of Labradors on the loose. But alas, it has failed miserably. Come wind, come snow, come rain, you can be assured that this God-forsaken, piece of junk of a fence post will continue to wobble and in the process drive me crazy.

When toddlers call you “Dad,” you’re supposed to be able to fix these sort of problems. So, I began seeking solutions. My first thought was that drought was the culprit, so I watered the ground around the post hoping the well-watered ground would huddle around the post; nope. For my next solution, my girls and I ventured to Home Depot and bought 60 pounds of concrete. The collective intelligence of my girls and my vast construction experience was certain that we had solved the issue; nope. Finally, I summoned my inner Si Robertson and decided to solve the problem “redneck style.” I wrapped bungee cords around the post and anchored it to my wheel barrow. To my delight the post no longer wobbled; we were happy, happy, happy. But the HOA of “yuppie-vile” for some reason did not share in our glee.

Finally, it was time to solve this once and for all. After watching all five Rocky movies for inspiration, we put some “Eye of the Tiger” in the ear buds and William Wallace eye-black beneath our eyes determined to end this fence post’s tyranny of wobble. The scene was truly inspirational to my adoring wife. As she watched my suburban physique attack this fence post’s fortress of concrete and dirt, her head nodding in disbelief, I knew she was thinking, “I am one lucky girl.”

After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, we reached the source of our trials: deep beneath the ground, the post was rotted and fractured. My only solution was to remove the decay, put a new post in the ground, and then seal it with a 100 pounds of concrete (yes, I realize I went overboard on the concrete). I am pleased to report that through the valiant efforts of my girls and me the threat has been once and for all removed. Today, a six-foot post of cedar stands boldly in its place; a testimony of American ingenuity signifying to all who pass by just what fathers and daughters can accomplish together when we put down our remote controls and chicken nuggets and come together in hope and change.

The experience reminded me of something that deep down we all sense: something is broken. “Girls the world we live in is full of injustice, suffering, evil-acts, and selfish hearts. Sometimes it feels like we are trying to hold life together with bungee cords and a wheelbarrow. But God intervened into our scene so that we may be redeemed. God dug deep—He put a post in the ground, removed the decay of sin, and sealed the redemption of all who believe, through the blood of His son.”

Looking down I caught a glimpse of my six year old’s emerald eyes gazing at me. “Do you understand sweetheart?” I said. To which she replied, “huh?!” “Exactly, none of us understand it all completely, but God doesn’t call us to understand it all; God calls us to believe.”