Isaiah wrote
this about the Christ—our Lord Jesus—about 700 years before Jesus was born. It so
well describes Jesus. Although He was the embodiment of love, He was despised
by Jewish leaders and forsaken even by His own disciples, except one, at the
end of His life. He knew grief—sadness deep within His heart. He was sinless,
but He had to live in a world full of sin—all around Him. That alone had to
have been heart wrenching on a daily basis—and it only got worse as He got
nearer to the cross. As He made His triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem
He paused and wept over it, knowing that it would one day be destroyed because
they did not recognize the Messiah. See Luke 19:28-44. That was on Sunday of His
final week. By Friday He would be scourged, disfiguring His face so that He was
not recognizable, and then crucified. The Passover Lamb was perfect—no blemish.
Worthy to have his blood shed for sin. Jesus was perfect, but despised and
rejected. Suffering, giving His blood, His life, for our sin.
Training Tip – How can children be “trained” to endure suffering?
Is it a trait that we want to consider as part of their character? Jesus suffered
for us all. We should be willing to give up our lives for our friends… Greater love
has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends…as written in John 15:13. We can possibly encourage
children to be willing to give up time, toys, food or other things so that
others could benefit from their sacrifice, but is that really “suffering”? Do
encourage them to give in a sacrificial way to help the needy, their family and
their friends. Being willing to give up their own pleasures for others is very
much like Jesus giving up part of His life and security for our eternal life.
We want to continue to grow to be more like Jesus in every way possible. What
can you do to be an example to the children in your family?
Lord – Help me to be more like You. Show me ways that I can sacrificially give so that others can
draw closer in their relationship to You.
All
scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise
noted.
© 2013 by Mickey M.
Hunacek. All rights reserved.
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