Following Judah's Lion

Thanksgiving

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

All our hopes? Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground. There can be only one hope and one source of our praise…Jesus. Everything we have, everything we are, and everything we will be is all because of Him. How we seem to forget and limit what He has done and continues to do and will complete, all for us. I do not remember pilgrims at this time. I remember and give thanks to the Great Redeemer and I remember the price He paid.

As we neatly cut the turkey and find room on our plates for all the food, let us be consumed with the aroma of His power and presence. He alone was worthy to suffer in our place and His face was set like a flint to be our slaughtered Lamb. I cannot put into words how unworthy I feel when I think about Him and His passion. To say I have fallen short is to elevate myself far above that which actually reveals the gaping chasm between my true self and His true salvation. I bring nothing of any value and no moral or spiritual merit. What He has freely bestowed upon me is all grace.

In my mind I’m going to be with Him forever. I abhor myself for having any affection for the things of this world. Spurgeon once stated that, “when we first set our eyes upon the Risen Christ we will consider ourselves a thousand fools for having been allured by anything other than Jesus”. Just the passing thought of eternal life is beyond me. And Jesus would have been so very gracious to save me and prepare an eternal paradise for me where I would live in perfect ecstasy. But He promised to prepare a place for me with Him…forever.

Oh heart and mind, how incompetent you are to fully embrace such fairy tales! I think that if I ever believed that in all its glory I would die at that very moment. I am such an unworthy sinner who deserves nothing, much less an eternity with my wonderful Creator. Oh lips, you are so accomplished at spewing forth so much nonsense and worthless chatter; when will you surrender completely to bringing forth that which always honors and lifts up Him? And you mind, how practiced you have become in wandering around and touching all kinds of useless and even sinful things; when will you settle upon Him and deepen the stakes and lengthen the cords of your tent right there? And you, heart, why do you listen to those sirens which do not profit?

And so I come before the blood drenched Roman planks, and I bow my sinful head and worship with a broken spirit and grateful heart. My Creator has loved me so deeply that He took my well deserved place of punishment, and He gave me a gift that soars above my ability to repay in the smallest way. He gave me Himself. All I can do is praise His matchless name…forever.