Tuesday, April 1, 2014

An Illustrated Story

There once was a girl who was shattered, scarred, broken, and ashamed.   She hated herself, even to the point of considering suicide sure that it was the only way to be freed from her wretchedness. 
 


One day, she saw a man hanging, bleeding, dying on a cross.  When He looked at her, love shot from her eyes into the deepest part of her soul.  She was so ashamed of her tattered appearance, she ran to change her clothes, taking time to iron, scrub, clean every spot.




She quickly returned, keenly aware that her best effort to look good for this Man was not enough to hide the scars, blackness, and broken heart of stone that defined her.   She ducked her head in shame, defeated yet again.    But then something amazing happened.   The Man came down off the cross, completely healed and very alive.  The same love that radiated from His eyes soothed her as He spoke.




The Man said, "Come to Me, and I will make you brand new.  Come, exchange your broken life for mine."   It sounded too good to be true, but something drew me closer.   She stepped up, then stepped away.   "I don't have anything to offer Him," she thought.  "Even my clothes can't cover up the ugly in me".    Again, He said to her, "Come."


So, with determination, she walked closer.  With every step she realized that her old life was completely gone.  He had completely consumed her, and she was now alive in His very existence.  Everything He was became who she was .  "No one would even recognize me," she smiled to herself, "I don't even recognize myself."    All because of one Man, hanging on a cross with love in His eyes.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself...For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
2 Cor. 5:17-18, 21

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