The Passion of the Christ

Last night after the boys went to bed, we watched The Passion by Mel Gibson. It was an extremely violent movie, but it had a profound effect on me. Emily & I both cried almost through the entire movie. As I was watching those people beat Jesus to a pulp over & over & over, I though of how many times as a child I heard how Jesus was crucified on the cross for our sins, so that we may have life, & have it more abundantly. I knew what that meant, even as a little girl. I knew about the nails they drove through His hands, & the crown of thorns He wore. I knew about the hole in His side where they poked Him with the spear to see if He was really dead. But until I saw that movie, I didn't really "get it". Here was Jesus, the son of the Almighty God, being beaten, & stoned, & tortured. It was real. Real blood...real pain...real emotion. How could anyone see these things & not accept the Lord as their God? What sacrifice..what love...what dedication. I've heard the story a thousand times...just words by some preacher or Sunday school teacher. Sure, it meant something, because I knew that I was saved because it happened & I believed. But last night, it was crystal clear. The sheer magnitude of it was heart wrenching. This movie needs to be seen by EVERY living person on the face of the earth. Every school, every church, every organization, every sports team, every business. Every family. Every household. Every orphanage, every prison, every homeless shelter. And if we forget, show it to us again & again, until we can't forget.
Through it all was Jesus' mother, Mary. She watched as they beat Him...as He carried His cross...as they crucified Him...as He died. I can only imagine the pain & the indecision she must have felt watching her son being killed before her very eyes. But she had to have faith that this was God's will. She was there to hold Him in her arms after He was dead. That had to be one of the greatest testimonies of faith ever. I don't think that I would have made it through, if that was Jhett or Sterling being crucified. We all want to think that we have faith. But is the faith that we proclaim enough, if God asked us to sacrifice one of our own? Words are cheap...actions tell the story.