Matthew 26:28 ” This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Picture yourself on a hot day. Your clothes are drenched in sweat and you are longing for something cool to drink. All of the sudden a dear friend brings a pitcher of water, filled to the brim with ice, and pours it into your cup. You put your lips to your glass, take a sip, and automatically a smile hits your face . Your thirst has been quenched and your body refreshed.
Here is another scenario. You are going on a date with your husband at a nice restaurant. It has been a while since the two of you have had time alone and so you put on your nicest dress. You get seated at a table with a picturesque view of the ocean. Along comes the waiter to pour you a glass of wine and all of the sudden he trips and spills the wine all over your dress. You are horrified and have to go home because now your cute pink dress is covered with crimson. What a mess. The date was cut short, the wine was wasted, and your dress was ruined.
Let me tie in these made up scenarios to real life stories. Late last year, I was struggling with several bloody noses. They were quite severe but, with the help of my parents, we were able to get the bleeding stopped . One day, however, as I was getting out of my truck my nose started to drip blood; going from drip to a deluge. I could not get it to stop and blood was gushing out. My dad called 911 and I ended up having a 10-12 hour straight bloody nose. I had to be put on a ventilator a trach tube put in because I swallowed so much blood. It was a very traumatic and horrific experience. The point is that I could not stop the blood flow no matter what I did; It was spilling out of me. I would have done anything to stop it, but I couldn’t. I could not get that blood back, it was spilt all over the ER room. I had to have a small transfusion and I ended up spending almost a month in the hospital.
On the other hand, Jesus Christ who is God’s one and only Son, came to earth as a man. His mission was to die on a cross so that His blood could wash away my sins and I could live with Him forever. You see my friend, on that cross Jesus’ blood was not spilled out. The circumstance was not out of His control. Jesus, at any moment, could have stoped the blood flow. He chose, however, to pour out every ounce of His blood so that we could gain eternal life. He emptied His cup so that our cups could be full.
What a contrast between these situations. My blood came uncontrollably spilling out of me. It did nothing but make the ER room look like a butcher shop and put me in the hospital for way too long. Every drop of Jesus’ blood was mercifully poured out. That crimson flow did the opposite of making a mess, in fact it cleansed my heart and made it as white as snow. The result of His blood is that I am healed of my sins, perfect before the Father, and I have gained eternal life. Mine created a disaster but His made a masterpiece of beauty and grace.
We can never repay Jesus for what He did, and what He is still doing, but we can purposely pour out our all for His glory and His kingdom. Please don’t try to control your life, wasting it and making a mess of things. Let Jesus fill your cup because left to yourself you would just spill it anyways.
liv4hvn 