The Supremacy of Christ

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.
(Colossians 1:15-20 ESV)

Monday, April 7, 2014

Born with a Tear in His Eye

The life of our adorable Lord was a life of
continuous trial. From the moment He entered
our world He became leagued with suffering.
He identified Himself with it in its almost
endless forms. He seemed to have been born
with a tear in His eye, with a shadow of sadness
on His brow. He was prophesied as "a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief." And, from
the moment He touched the horizon of our earth,
from that moment His sufferings commenced.
He did not come to indulge in a life of tranquility
and repose. He did not come to quaff the cup of
earthly sweets.

He came to suffer!
He came to bear the curse!
He came to drain the deep cup of wrath!
He came to weep!
He came to bleed!
He came to die!

Our Savior was a cross bearing Savior.
Our Lord was a suffering Lord.
He turned His back upon . . .
  the pleasures,
  the riches,
  the luxuries, and even
  the common comforts of this world;
preferring a life of . . .
  obscurity,
  penury, and
  suffering.

Jesus . . .
  hungered,
  thirsted,
  labored,
  sorrowed,
  wept,
  suffered,
  bled,
  died!

He . . .
  was scourged,
  was bruised,
  was mocked,
  was smitten,
  was spit upon,
  was nailed to the tree,
  was pierced,
  was slain!

[Octavius Winslow, "Evening Thoughts"]

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