BY KATIE WENCLEWICZ, GRACE ATTENDER & BLOGGER
You came for criminals and every Pharisee
You came for hypocrites, even one like me
You carried sin and shame the guilt of every man
The weight of all I've done nailed into Your hands
Oh, Your love bled for me
Oh, Your blood in crimson streams
Oh, Your death is hell's defeat
A cross meant to kill is my victory
Above are lyrics from one of my favorite songs. When I first heard it, I immediately went on YouTube to listen to it again. How powerful are the words: A cross meant to kill is my victory. What makes me rejoice is that a monumental moment in history that many people hoped for the worst were smacked in the face with truth: You can’t contain him.
This Jesus – you can’t keep him asleep. You can’t stop him. You can’t kill him. You can’t mock him further. Why? Because this Jesus was beaten and bruised, yet he resurrected from the dead and lay to rest the hopeless persona of death so that eventually we would be living with him for forever.
That thought brings me hope, but I understand if it doesn’t necessarily bring you hope. I get it. When we look around the world, how can we not lose hope? We are bombarded with hatred, racism, injustices for women in sex-trafficking, mass murders, and multiple shootings. In a world of sadness, how can we find hope?
When I hear Dave speak on moments where we wake up and feel the hope that things are getting easier, I sometimes have to reflect and ask myself, “Have I been feeling that recently?”
We all bring burdens to the table. Some of you come from broken families and feeling loved is a struggle. Some of you have been physically hurt and have hard times trusting people. Maybe – you have had a “great” life, but you’ve found yourself extremely selfish. There are chips on all of our shoulders, whether we want to admit them or not.
Here’s the thing though: no matter what struggle, Jesus offers redemption and grace through the cross. When Dave preaches on the verses in Isaiah, we are immediately reminded that we are to shake off hindrances and negativity. While it may seem difficult, we have to think that Jesus’ death gives us the path to ignore those “less than” feelings and have a “greater than” victory.
We’re reminded throughout Isaiah that there is this miraculous hope and victory through a servant and his name is Jesus. I love how Matthew talks about, in the New Testament, that Jesus came to serve and not be served. What a life.
Food for thought: How are you serving today? Are you becoming like Jesus helping others? If interested, there are so many sectors at Grace that could you use!
While you may not feel hope, I want to introduce you to hope today.
I think the biggest oxymoron in Dave's message from Easter 2015 is that the Son of God and most perfect person was labeled a servant. How crazy, right? This servant was sensitive to people and their needs. He was a pillar for the broken and hurting. Who he was is still the same person today. He is still serving us to the greatest capacity so that we may know him! He cares. He loves. He wants to build you up and help you.
This servant was beaten, mocked, bruised, and suffered deeply. He was pierced for our transgressions, yet he still went through all of that to serve us. The coolest part about this whole story is something that Dave brought up. After his resurrection, he demanded the kings of this world to shut their mouths. It was at that moment he basically said in millennial terms, “What now?” Jesus also sprinkled forgiveness and redemption around like wildflowers. He passionately loves you and me. He wants us to feel hope. He wants us to feel that victory. What a beautiful time to be reminded of that so close to Easter.
He passionately loves you and me. He wants us to feel hope. He wants us to feel that victory.![]()
Tweet This
If you haven’t felt victory through Jesus Christ – I encourage you to seek out his goodness. There are a few practical ways, but I’ll give you the easiest: open up his word. While it may take some down time and studying, there is no better way than to read from the ones who knew him and loved him.
While you may feel stuck in the pain of this world, I want to remind you that the cross meant to kill Jesus is your victory in life. Grasp on to that hope this Easter season.