Why, why, why do you die for me?

I am working on an interactive night for our youth meeting Thursday night similar to a liturgical practice called “The Way of the Cross”, or “Stations of the Cross”. It’s a reflective look at the suffering Jesus experienced in his last hours.

As Christians, many of us have a sense of our obligation to obey the teachings of Jesus. We can intellectually understand the connection of obedience to our salvation. God is supreme…He alone is the source of grace. We get that it is the grace of God, acting through the death of Jesus to forgive our sin. We get forgiveness. We struggle with obedience.

I offer another view to consider. Consider the word compulsion. Ponder for a moment the absolute awe, amazement, even disbelief you experience in that first moment when you really believe that Jesus suffered and died for you. That you did nothing to earn anything from God, and yet he gave up everything to give you life…real life…eternal life. I ask you to consider the meaning of compulsion:

An irresistible impulse to act, regardless of the rationality of the motivation

Have you been touched so deeply…

So profoundly…

Has God’s gift of forgiveness tasted so sweet…

So amazing…

That you are compelled to respond?

That all you want to do is anything and everything that he would ask you to do?

I end with these words from the Apostle Paul, who was so compelled by the grace he found in Jesus as to give all the remaining years of his life to tell everyone who would listen (and more) about it:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5