Wow! I haven't posted anything in SO long. I don't know why, either! But i'm doing it right now so that's all that matters. ;) I just wanted to share with everyone something that God brought to my mind as I was in the Word last night. I started reading through the gospels a few weeks ago and last night, I go to the end of Matthew. I read Matthew 27 and 28, which talk about Jesus' crucifixion. In chapter 26 and 27, I was reading about all that Jesus suffered through before He was even on the cross. The Bible talks about how the soldier's stripped Him and put a crown of thorns on His head. They mocked Him and spit on Him and the Bible says that they smoke Him which means they struck Him. As I was reading this, God took me back in my own mind to a few weeks ago when I was out witnessing downtown with my college class from Broadway.
One of my friends and I were sitting in the square, sharing the Gospel to a guy and his girlfriend. About 10 feet away from me, another one of my friends was witnessing to a man that was from Kenya, Africa. He barely spoke any English, and he was drunk and homeless. I was just sitting there, watching my friend share the Gospel with him, when all of the sudden, this random guy comes up to the man from Africa, accuses him of taking his hat, and then punches him right in the face and knocks him to the ground! There were a few other guys around that were laughing at what had just happened and making fun of the man that had just gotten punched. Automatically, my heart broke for him. I was also instantly angry at the man that punched him in the face! I wanted to like stand up and say, "Are you kidding me??!!" He had done nothing to them and they hurt him and laughed at him and made fun of him. Tears were forming in my eyes and my heart sank because there was nothing I could do.I would've probably gotten punched in the face too if I tried anything lol. I'll never forget how bad it made me feel to watch somebody get hurt like that. I can still feel the same emotions I felt that night when I replay that scenario in my head.
Like I said, as I was reading, God brought that memory of the man downtown into my mind. And then He drew my attention back to the story about His Son. He caused me to think about the fact that the same thing happened to Him. Cruel and angry men hit my Jesus in the face and punched Him and beat Him and hurt Him. And He had done nothing to them. That thought, that image in my head of Jesus going through all of that, broke my heart. But then I thought of something else. He went through all of that for ME. He was being beaten and mocked because of Amie Leigh Schroder. With every hit He willingly took, I was on His mind. It was my sin that caused Him to endure all of that. It was my sin that nailed Him to the cross. And after that thought, my heart shattered. He willingly bore my sin and my guilt and my shame on His shoulders, even though He knew that I would spit in His face and reject Him and mock Him. Not only did He take my sin upon Himself, but He took my sorrows and my grief. (Isaiah 53:4-5) Every hard thing that i've ever had to face in life and will ever have to face, He already faced it for me. He already endured if for me so that He could walk through it with me.
I wasn't doing an in depth study in the Word last night, I was just simply reading. But it's amazing how easily I forget who I really am, and what God has done for me. I am humbled and amazed that Jesus knows how filthy my life is and how wicked my heart is, yet still looks at me with mercy and compassion in His eyes. Just like the song says, He looked beyond my fault and saw my need. He knew I needed someone to rescue my lost soul, and that's why He sent His Son. I was and still am unworthy, but to Him, I was worth it. What a thought. He not only did that for me, but He did it for you, too. He suffered it all....because He loved me.
- Amie