Tags

, , , ,

Easter Sunday. Resurrection Sunday. The hinge of Christianity. Without Jesus’ death and resurrection we of all people most to be pitied (1 Cor 15:18-20). Most sermons speak of His Passion for us, the sacrifice both the Father and Son made in terms of His crucifixion. All speaking of what He did. How do we respond to such a sacrifice?

Hebrews 12:2 (KJV) says that we should look “unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. We should respond in the same way that God courted us, in the same way that Jesus sacrificed His life, and in the same way we engage with friends…lean in.

The iPad has a new Pandora app for lean-in listeners, folks who like to “experience” music, connect, explore. This is also what we do with little children, especially shy ones as they want to tell you something important. It is what I remember doing recently in a Skype conversation with a recently reconnected friend (thanks, Facebook). There were two times that I remember this happening. One was when we were discussing a “bless her heart” moment, another was when we were connecting over a love of fine coffee. These were moments in the conversation when we leaned in physically, yet the actual conversation was a way of leaning in as well, of connecting.

This leaning is what God did with all of us. He leans in to our lives in extraordinarily ordinary ways, calmly without much grandeur, spiritually and physically. He walked with two on the road to Emmaus. He whispered to Elijah. He wrestled with Jacob. He leans in.

Jesus also leaned in to the sacrifice to save us, to connect with us, to have a relationship with us. Death by crucifixion comes from suffocation. To precipitate death, the person’s legs are broken so that he cannot push/pull himself up to breathe. But they didn’t have to break Jesus’ legs. When they came to Him, he had already leaned in.

So another way of saying Hebrews 12:2 would be lean into Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him leaned into the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I am planning to lean in in all my relationships, all my activities. Leaning in brings relationship, brings richness, and brings rejuvenation. Lean in with me. Lean into Jesus and the people and experiences He’s placed in your life. Lean in.

Advertisement