a slap in the face

John 19:19-22 “Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.’I have spoken openly to the world,’ Jesus replied. ‘I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.’ When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. ‘Is this the way you answer the high priest?’ he demanded.”

The other day, I was reading the story of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus and Jesus’ crucifixion in John, and these verses in chapter 19 really hit me, specifically verse 22. It says that one of the officials struck Jesus in the face. As in, this guy slapped the King of kings. He hit Jesus. On the face. With the hand that Jesus created, actually. My initial reaction was anger at this guy…how dare he hit my King? How could he be so blind to the fact of who Jesus was, and is!? But then as I continued to think about it, I realized that the official did what we as sinners do every day. Yeah, there’s not a physical Jesus that we punch with our fist, but every time we chose sin and the desires of the flesh over the incredible blessings that are offered to us through Christ, we are pretty much slapping Him in the face. When we chose our old sinful habits over the grace of Christ, we’re saying “Yeah, God, what You’ve got is whatever…I’d rather not take part of it. I mean You gave your life, but it’s not really worth it to me to live for You.” That’s a slap if I’ve ever heard one.

Not worth it. That’s what our lives scream when we continue to stand in our sinful ruts. Not worth it. That’s what we say when we claim that our bodies aren’t beautiful. Punch, slap, smack, ouch. Why do we claim to live for Christ and love Him with our lives but then slap Him in the face in our lives? It breaks my heart. Truly, honestly, breaks my heart.

POEM!

So this spring break, I was with my best friend Kenna in Indiana for the week. We wrote a poem that sums up everything that we've done together this week, and I thought I would share it with you all. (The "you" refers to McKenna, by the way)


KENNA PRENNA

Your name is McKenna, I'm sure you're aware
On top of your head is lovely brown hair
You're great at Violin, and I like to hear you play
Some time we'll go to the zoo for the day!

We're best friends, through thick and through thin
Our friendship is made of stuff that's stronger than tin!
Talking to you always makes me feel better
And you're so nice - you let me borrow your sweaters!

Sitting in a hot tub was pretty darn fun
Although girls to boys it was six to one.
I like frolicking with you, especially at night
And we leave when the dark starts to give us the frights :)

Studying History can be quite creative
Although we're not always that motivated...
Grouchpants and SPICEQUEENS have no place among us
Or movies with characters who carelessly cuss!

I feel safe telling you things, I trust you completely,
I hope that you never change your name to "Bill Wheatley"
You can come live in my room and NOT sleep on a cot
I'll even clean up and let you use Emerson's robot!

You're at your lesson, playing with passion
And I'm looking at Tumblr, at blogs full of fashion.
You live in a cute city called Carmel, Indiana
Although I doubt that here it has ever rained manna...

This summer, we'll hang out together, you'll see!
Maybe we could even go climb in a tree!
We both have stomach problems that equal funny noises
And we see that high school dating is usually pointless

I LOVE YOU, MCKENNA KATE!
and hey, guess what? HATERS GONNA HATE!
but like JBiebs taught us, we'll never say never
Even if our sunrise breakfast is ruined by foul weather!

Wisdom Builders was fun, and so was Ben-Hur,
Although his chest looked like it was covered in fur.
I'm sad  that tomorrow I have to go home,
But no worries, we'll still talk on the phone!

If you ever get toe cramps, don't be alarmed
It happens to people, even if you don't live on a farm
Some days are just made for poking your eyes
And doing special dances that will bring in the guys!

We're not very good at picking out pickles
When Lucy jumps on my legs, it certainly tickles!
We both like the smell of chlorine and cookies
At baseball, Patch would beat us, because we're only rookies.

In the Arts District of your fine town
There's a restaurant called Bubs which on the wall has a hound
Ice cream there looks really good
But you'll get mugged if you take it in the hood

Someday we'll go on our first dates
And the guys better be really first-rate
If there's a shaking in the bushes, don't be alarmed
It's your BEST FRIEND, making sure you're not in harm!

Every Friday we'll wear dresses
And do something pretty with our tresses
It's a female revolution
Taking place at our institutions!

At Chick-Fil-A, they always say "My pleasure!"
And their ice cream is certainly served in large measures
There's an old man named Grandpa who creeped us out quite a bit
And he walks around, giving out mints!

As our time here together comes to a close
And we sit in the car reading pieces of prose
You and me together, a pod with two peas
And thats the way very best friends should be :)


McKenna and Emily, 4/2011