mattbraunlin
Member
Where You Built Altars
Mankind measures time by Christ. It has for two thousand years and it will again. The impact Jesus has had on our planet is so monolithic that we judge it to be the ultimate turning point in human history. Everything before him was preparation, everything after him is consequence. Jesus’ life is Year Zero of the story of mankind.
However, there is another type of Year Zero which deserves our attention.
I am a huge fan of the concept of PERSONAL Year Zeros. Events in our lives which have such a massive impact on who we are, that nothing is ever the same afterward. Little microcosms of Christ's life which happen to us on a personal level. They may not make it into the history books, but we all have them, and they are crucial for us. Some are wonderful, some are very tragic, but they must be kept in remembrance and reflection. They are high watermarks of our personal history which provide immense understanding of who we are as individuals.
And that's the difference: while Christ stands firm as the singular turning point of our history as a race, I'm sure you can look back and see numerous moments, crystalized in your mind and heart, after which everything changed, for better or for worse, or for both.
I cannot know what those are. At their deepest and most profound level, no one can. They're between you and God. But cling to them with all your strength. Bring them to God in deepest prayer. They can teach you so much. Think of them as altars, like the Patriarchs built in remembrance of crucial events on their perilous journeys of faith.
However, there is one Year Zero in your life which forbids any altar. No altar is worthy to stand in its presence.
And that Year Zero is the day you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. From that point on, all altars in your life, before and after, point and bow to the cross.
Words cannot begin to describe how completely my life changed that night in November 2007. That night I fell to my knees in defeat and surrender, and allowed God to achieve a victory in my heart that was bigger than the universe. I wept in purest Joy. All the hosts of heaven rejoiced at another lost sheep, found and redeemed by Jesus.
I have come to understand that all my triumphs and tragedies of my first twenty-one years were mere steps on a pained and shambled path which led to the cross. And every step that has followed, though no less painful, has been the step of an amazed and upright saint, washed white as snow by Christ's blood.
The cross is nothing less than the lens which brings every moment of my life into focus. By Christ and Christ alone do I make sense to myself.
Just as Jesus is the cornerstone of Man's history, so he is the cornerstone of mine. Of every man, woman, boy and girl who has ever given their whole hearts to the Saviour whom they knew they needed.
And this greatest of all majesties is yours for the taking. Right now. Repent of your sins, cry out your need for your Saviour, and let him show you what you are, what you were, and what you were always meant to be.
Mankind measures time by Christ. It has for two thousand years and it will again. The impact Jesus has had on our planet is so monolithic that we judge it to be the ultimate turning point in human history. Everything before him was preparation, everything after him is consequence. Jesus’ life is Year Zero of the story of mankind.
However, there is another type of Year Zero which deserves our attention.
I am a huge fan of the concept of PERSONAL Year Zeros. Events in our lives which have such a massive impact on who we are, that nothing is ever the same afterward. Little microcosms of Christ's life which happen to us on a personal level. They may not make it into the history books, but we all have them, and they are crucial for us. Some are wonderful, some are very tragic, but they must be kept in remembrance and reflection. They are high watermarks of our personal history which provide immense understanding of who we are as individuals.
And that's the difference: while Christ stands firm as the singular turning point of our history as a race, I'm sure you can look back and see numerous moments, crystalized in your mind and heart, after which everything changed, for better or for worse, or for both.
I cannot know what those are. At their deepest and most profound level, no one can. They're between you and God. But cling to them with all your strength. Bring them to God in deepest prayer. They can teach you so much. Think of them as altars, like the Patriarchs built in remembrance of crucial events on their perilous journeys of faith.
However, there is one Year Zero in your life which forbids any altar. No altar is worthy to stand in its presence.
And that Year Zero is the day you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. From that point on, all altars in your life, before and after, point and bow to the cross.
Words cannot begin to describe how completely my life changed that night in November 2007. That night I fell to my knees in defeat and surrender, and allowed God to achieve a victory in my heart that was bigger than the universe. I wept in purest Joy. All the hosts of heaven rejoiced at another lost sheep, found and redeemed by Jesus.
I have come to understand that all my triumphs and tragedies of my first twenty-one years were mere steps on a pained and shambled path which led to the cross. And every step that has followed, though no less painful, has been the step of an amazed and upright saint, washed white as snow by Christ's blood.
The cross is nothing less than the lens which brings every moment of my life into focus. By Christ and Christ alone do I make sense to myself.
Just as Jesus is the cornerstone of Man's history, so he is the cornerstone of mine. Of every man, woman, boy and girl who has ever given their whole hearts to the Saviour whom they knew they needed.
And this greatest of all majesties is yours for the taking. Right now. Repent of your sins, cry out your need for your Saviour, and let him show you what you are, what you were, and what you were always meant to be.