It's not a question of who's going to throw the first stone; it's a question of who's going to start building with it.
- Sloan Wilson

"Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'?" Matthew 21:42 NASB

^{As we are in the midst of "Holy Week", let us not forget the price of Atonement, the price we can never repay.  Jesus Christ paid that bill for us... there will never be a collection agent calling us for the payment... that bill was PAID IN FULL!} 

How few of us understand the real meaning of Christ's suffering and death on that cross. We have only a dim comprehension of the conflict He passed through and the kind of agonizing death He experienced. Could our eyes be opened to grasp the true significance of His sacrifice, there would be no more miserable collaborating with Satan. Our weakness would be turned into courage and victory.

We are dealing here with the readjustment of a jarred relationship. That is what atonement really is. Two parties are always involved, the wronged and the wrongdoer. In this case it is God, the wronged, and man, the one who sins against Him. Justice demands an adequate expiation of the sin. Only two courses are possible: either justice will exact the prescribed penalty, or there must be forgiveness from the offended one. If forgiveness is extended, the forgiver will have to accept the consequences of the sin, and suffer it in place of the guilty. The penalty for sin is death. So in order to grant forgiveness to the sinner, Jesus must be willing to bear in His own body the same punishment that the broken law would demand of the sinner.

I, personally couldn't do it... none of us could.  I cannot begin to fathom the depth of despair that came upon our Savior just before his capture in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He had asked his disciples to tarry awhile with Him in prayer.  They fell asleep, leaving Him to despair alone.  I beleive it was His natural man, feeling and dealing with this despair... even with the foreknowledge of the physical pain, the moment was fast approaching when He would be totally seperate and alone and apart from His Father.  Oh, the wrenching of His spirit, His feelings, His heart.  He kept going despite what He was going through... not because He was a stand up guy, not because He was a puppet... because He chose to love us... unconditionally.

Let us never forget the price of the Atonement.  Why Jesus went to Calvary.  Why He died.  And why He rose again... love.  P.H.

Let us journey on...