We finally saw "The Passion of the Christ" last night. I wasn't going to watch, coz I'm in my first trime of pregnancy now--meaning, barf galore and dizzy-ville. However, surprisingly, I wasn't grossed out with the gory scenes. Although, I have to say that I was especially moved by the flagellum scene. Isn't that weird? "Moved"?
I guess it's coz I've read/heard the graphic medical descriptions of the crucifixion for like 2 or 3 times already. Everything in the movie was more or less what I expected. But, it was my final reaction to the whole movie that kinda caught me off guard (and I bet that was how God intended for me to feel about it). Instead of sobbing and feeling sorry and guilty and all that, I actually felt like jumping up and praising God and declaring, "That's how great and mighty my God is!"
Coz it's true! After leaving the movie theater, I began singing the song, "Awesome God"-- Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love, our God is an awesome God.
That's my God! My Lord, my King, my Master, my Savior, my Messiah, my Best Friend, my Everything! and praise God, I am His child!
Mel Gibson--God bless you for getting the message. You really so get it. The whole message of the crucifixion is not about Jesus Christ's suffering or about our guilt or about the Jews and the Romans...it's about sin, about God's compassion and incomparable love for us--it's about Christ's PASSION for us! It's what drove Him, inspired Him to go through with the whole inhumane ordeal.
During the flagellum scene, I was asking God, "Why? Why? Oh my God, why? Just for me?"
And He said, "It's not just for you. It was for everybody. This is how much I loved you. You belonged to me. You are My creation." He let me feel His heartache over us--us stinkin' little arrogant humans who often forget that we're just humans. He didn't intend for us to feel sorry for ourselves--God wanted us to be thankful and to repent becoz God is a Father who will do ANYTHING for us. After all, what will feeling guilty benefit us? It is repentance that will change our lives!
Praise God! Happy Easter! May you all have a blessed and joyful celebration of God's love for us all!
