Happy Easter! This joyous greeting that has been heard throughout the Retreat & Conference Center halls this week. What does that greeting hold for you? Rainey Taylor, our Sales Manager, wrote a beautiful reflection below that expounds on a favorite passage from scripture to unpack the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice for each one of us. Let’s take a few quiet moments to read her thoughts…
What does the sacrifice mean to us?
Whenever I find myself thinking of the sacrifice that Jesus made for each of us, I am drawn to the scripture below from Philippians 2:5-11. The apostle Paul describes who Christ is and who He wants us to aspire to be.
5 Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had.
I wonder is this even possible for us. If it is, how? This scripture touches on this very concept.
6 Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God.
How often do we demand “our rights”, “what we deserve”, what we believe is “owed to us” instead of becoming less so that others can be more, just as Jesus did?
7 He made himself nothing, he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form.
He willingly gave up the glory of his home to join us in the earthly home that we as men and women have and continue to do everything possible to destroy.
8 and in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.
There is an old hymn that reminds us “that Jesus paid it all – all to Him I owe”. He doesn’t ask for much from us but was willing to humble himself and die the lowliest death possible so that we would be rewarded with his grace and glory as He prepares a place for us.
9 Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This is what we are called to do. To acknowledge who Jesus is, what He has done for us and to be willing to live our lives like we understand His great sacrifice.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8