I’m Thankful to God That Jesus Didn’t Quit

My daughter writes each day about something she is thankful for that day. I was so touched by the following post she had on Facebook last night, that I just have to share it with you.
By Sarah Johnson
Today I’m thankful to God that Jesus didn’t quit.
Imagine. You’re in the desert. It’s hot. Like, really hot. You’re exhausted. You’ve been chained up and beaten. Not only with fists, but whips, chains. Every inch of you hurts. You have open wounds all over your body. Your sweat, your salty sweat is rolling into those open wounds. Stinging like tiny needles being dragged along your skin. You can’t wipe it away. Your feet are raw from walking, every pebble or hunk of dirt they scrape against as you step is excruciating. You are dragging a heavy wooden rugged cross on your shoulders. The wood from the cross shoving splinters into your sunburned shoulders with every step. Your vision cloudy from the blood dripping from your head into your eyes. You can’t wipe it. Your mouth so dry you feel panicked. There is no water. You hear your heartbeat pounding in your ears. Bouncing around inside your head. Only slightly muffled by the shouting of people wishing to see you die. Every breath is more painful than the last. You are about to die, but not soon enough. You know you will be nailed to that cross on your back and left to hang for hours. You know you’re about to die one of the most painful deaths possible.

You could stop it all.
With one word you could make the suffering end and feel no more pain.
Do you do it?
Do you quit?
Most would. In fact, I’d like to argue that all would, given the opportunity. All except Jesus.
The Son of God.
Our Lord and Savior.
He continued His suffering. He valued our eternity more than His life on earth. More than His comfort. More than Himself.
Jesus came to this earth specifically to minister to us and ultimately die for us, so that we may live eternally with Him. At anytime He could’ve said “nope, this is too hard, I quit”, but He didn’t. He faced torture and death and didn’t turn away. He completed His mission. He endured all the ridicule, hatred, beatings, and lashings for us. So that we could one day know true peace in Heaven. He did this knowing a lot of us would spit in the face of His sacrifice. He did it anyway. Wow! He. Did. It. Anyway!
We set today aside to focus on the fact that Jesus died to save us from sin. Is it the exact anniversary? Probably not. Does the date on the calendar really matter in the grand scheme of things? Nope. Although we can’t be exactly sure the date this event occurred, it’s nice to have one set aside in recognition. We should be focusing on it everyday, but as humans, when we do stuff daily it seems to loose it’s feeling of being special. It just becomes an everyday thing. Ordinary, even. Once a year celebrations give us the opportunity to refocus on the extraordinary. To help our human brains keep special events special. What could be more special than someone dying to save your life?
Happy Good Friday everyone!