Outstretched Arms
*****
The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
To believe that while Jesus is suffering on the Cross He is demonstrating to everyone that He has His arms wide open to embrace His children when they come to Him is almost mind-boggling! How can He do that while He is enduring a slow, painful death at the hands of those He loves, but who do not realize what they are doing? Jesus didn't just die. Insane religious people purposely killed the Son of God, the Creator of the Universe, the Author of Life. "They hated me without reason," said Jesus. (John 15:25). Nothing but pure insanity: to hate someone for no reason and to want them dead. Realize that Jesus did not climb up on the Cross all by Himself. Was the Cross Jesus' only option for being put to death? Evidently, He did not consider the act of being stoned to death a sufficient means of dying as He avoided that method at least twice. Then again, crucifixion on a cross was the choice that was made by the elite religious mob as being the only appropriate method to permanently end Jesus' life. In their warped minds, Jesus deserved the most cruel means of execution.
Many are the religious people today who believe Jesus suffered the death that every human being on Planet Earth deserves, that He absorbed God's wrath doing so. Jesus had to die and shed His blood because only He could pay the penalty for our sins, and at the same time prove how much He loves us. Jesus was mocked, struck with fists, spit upon, a crown of thorns placed upon His head, He was nailed to the Cross, etc. These acts are universally believed and promoted by Christ's followers today as God the Father's desire for all sinful humanity, that this is the punishment that should be allocated to every sinner, ... and yes, we are all sinners. [Not a very likeable God, is He? This sounds exactly like what Satan the devil would like to do than what a God of love would do]. Because our "brief life of sin" on Planet Earth can have such eternal, far-reaching and terrorizing results, it somehow seemed unfair, so the God of love considered a different approach. It is thought, then, that God's wrath for all sinners, for all mankind and for all angels, would be transferred and poured out on God's only Son, Jesus instead, that Jesus would bear the punishment that angels and mankind rightfully deserved. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you.
What is described above, though, is not God's holy wrath. Instead, it is Man's wrath - a wrath that the God of Heaven would never consider as being part of His agenda, nor the way He runs His Universe. God's wrath is totally different: He will "let people go," and they will suffer the consequences of their own rebellious choice, and the result of lost people being "let go" by God will always end in the final second death from which there is no resurrection. Freedom of Choice (the foundation of God's government and the way He runs His Universe) cost Jesus His life, but it guarantees everyone (angels as well as all of mankind) the option to love God, or the option to want nothing to do with Him and to even hate Him. There is no imposed penalty by God if you don't like Him or want to be with Him. God will sadly watch and allow you to go your own way, ... and the result is: you will eventually and permanently die, and you will never breathe or exist again forever, for all eternity.
Jesus and the Cross
The death of Jesus on the Cross reveals that Jesus didn't just die,
because Jesus did not climb up on the Cross all by Himself.
The death of Jesus on the Cross proves that insane religious people
hated Jesus with such intensity that they wanted Him dead,
and that they actually killed Him.
"They hated me without reason," said Jesus. (John 15:25).
The Cross reveals that God doesn't want to kill people.
The Cross proves that people want to kill God.
What person in his right mind would want Jesus dead?
Why would anyone seek the death penalty for
the Creator of the Universe, the Author of Life, the Maker of All Things?
Jesus Christ is not a blood sacrifice to appease a vicious God.
Why did Jesus have to die?
Freedom of Choice is the Foundation of God's government and the way He runs His Universe.
God is fully committed and will defend everyone's right to Freedom of Choice.
He will even die, if necessary.
"It is for freedom (of choice) that Christ has set us free (to choose)." Galatians 5:1
If we choose to love and admire God, we like Him and want to become His understanding friend.
If we choose to be indifferent and don't care about God, He will respect that decision.
If we choose to hate and despise God, we become His enemy and want to kill Him.
Jesus died to protect and guarantee everyone's Freedom of Choice.
To Know God is Life Eternal
Jesus' Prayer to His Father:
"Now this is Eternal Life: that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
John 17:3
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