A Renewed Passion
It started out as an evening of fun and entertainment. The van was filled with a pastor and her congregation, going to see the biggest Christian film of possibly our lifetime. We were excited and anticipating a spectacular film. The story of our Lord, rightly portrayed in graphic presentation and stereo sound. None of us really knew what to expect but our hopes were high and our mood was merry. We were comepletely unprepared for what lay before us.
Certainly we had read the Bible. I knew every word by heart. But there on that big screen with every Scripture resonating of the live page into my soul, it took on a whole new meaning. To hear those words spoken in their ancient tongue and reading those captions, knowing what they said before they said them. They echoed in my very soul.
Never again will I mention lightly "the blood of Jesus." The blood of Jesus that was shed for me, is now real and visual before me. It is as though I was right there with Mary, cleaning it off the ground. To see how He willingly took that beating; "wounded for my transgresssions" and "bruised for my transgressions", I winced and jumped and felt my way through every stripe. "The chastisement for my peace was upon Him." "By His stripes I am healed." It was not cheap. I will never forget again.
The "Passion of Christ" could just have easily been called the "Compassion of Christ". The way He looked at them. The way He felt for them. The memories and the moments He spent with them. How He lived with them. How He died for them. His eyes were beautiful. When words could never have said enough, His eyes said everything. The visual was everything.
Amazing. Thanks be to Jesus who died for me. Thank you Mel Gibson for being obedient and letting God use you in this way. You have been used by our Lord to bring His passion to the world. It has already changed lives. I know because it changed mine.
God spoke one sentence to me as I watched the final scene. He said, "Will you preach THIS GOSPEL?" I answered in a heartbeat, and tonight I know I am not alone. My answer is, "I will!"
