Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

The Cross of Jesus

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Tomorrow is Good Friday.  We are studying Matthew 27 (the crucifixion) in Bible Study Fellowship this week.  So the cross of Jesus has been on my mind lately, and it’s showed me two things:

1. the cross doesn’t enter my daily thoughts very often, and 2. it really, really should.

Life is busy.  My thoughts are usually consumed with my to-do list, dinner plans, parenting challenges, and vacation daydreams.  But these last several days, as my thoughts have turned more and more to the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ, I started making a mental list of how I’ve benefitted from Christ’s death on the cross.

I’d like to be more aware of these benefits on a daily basis, not just during Holy Week.  And so as I record them for myself, I’ll also share them with you.  I hope contemplating what Christ has done will encourage you as it has encouraged me.

 

Christ was betrayed, so I could be reconciled to God. (Romans 5:10)

Christ was taken captive, so I could be set free. (Matthew 26:50, Galatians 5:1)

Christ poured out His blood, so I could be filled with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 26:28, Romans 8:11)

Christ was falsely accused, so I could be free from the accusations of the evil one. (Matthew 26:59-60)

Christ was sacrificed, so I could be rescued. (I Peter 1:18-19)

Christ was taken outside the city gates, so I could be brought into God’s kingdom. (Matthew 27:33)

Christ was forsaken, so I could be accepted. (Matthew 27:46)

Christ was disrobed, so I could be clothed in His righteousness. (Isaiah 61:10, Matthew 27:35)

Christ became sin, so I could be made righteous. (II Corinthians 5:21)

Christ was wounded, so I could be healed. (I Peter 2:24)

Christ was mocked, so I could be welcomed. (Matthew 27:39-44)

Christ suffered, so I could be sanctified. (Hebrews 13:11-13)

Christ was condemned, so I could know no condemnation. (Romans 8:1)

Christ became like the guilty, so my guilt could be removed. (Matthew 27:37-38, Psalm 103:12)

Christ was separated from the Father, so I never will be. (Romans 8:38-39)

Christ died in the darkness, so I could walk in the light. (Matthew 27:45, John 8:12)

Christ became cursed, so I could be free from the curse. (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)

Christ was humiliated, so I could be glorified with Him. (Romans 8:17)

Christ was rejected, so I could be adopted. (Romans 8:15-16)

Christ felt the sting of death, so I could be freed from its power. (I Corinthians 15:55-57, Matthew 27:50)

Christ was punished, so I could be pardoned. (Micah 7:18)

Christ wore a crown of thorns, so I could receive the crown of life. (Matthew 27:29, James 1:12)

Christ experienced God’s wrath, so I could be spared from it. (Romans 3:25)

Christ was the perfect Passover Lamb, so I could pass from death to life. (John 1:29, Colossians 1:13)

 

John 19:30: When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 

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Mighty Molly Mutz

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Something very sad happened this week to someone I love. Ashley Escue is one of my best friends from our husbands’ medical school days in Memphis. We encouraged each other while our husbands were working 100-hour weeks and studying for board exams. We cried together on Match Day and beamed with pride at graduation. She loved me even through the years when she had kids and I didn’t, and I thought I understood, but I didn’t. At all. She hauled her third son to Indiana after the birth of my first son and comforted me when I was so exhausted that I couldn’t do anything but cry. Ashley is the daughter of Dennis and Barbara Rainey (founders of Family Life), so she always has fabulous book recommendations and advice.

Ashley has a sister, Rebecca Mutz, whom I have heard so much about from Ashley. Because I am friends with Rebecca on Facebook, I knew that she was expecting her first child. I saw the announcement of her baby girl’s birth on Facebook, and then two days later became concerned when her Facebook status asked for prayer for her daughter. Molly was unexpectedly born with life-threatening medical conditions, and God took her Home on Thursday, just a week after she was born. I won’t share all the details of Molly’s life here, but another blogger posted email updates along the way from Dennis Rainey here and here . All I will say here is that Rebecca and her husband Jacob had a baby dedication service with family in the hospital. God asked them to unreservedly commit their child to Him in the fullest sense, and they obeyed. They are truly courageous parents who cling to their Savior and entrusted their daughter to Him.

Mighty Molly Mutz (as her Papa referred to her) has had a deep impact on me this week, and one that I know is lasting. I am unable to put the entire experience into words, but here are a few things I have learned from Molly:

1. Molly made me long for Heaven. If God would have allowed Rebecca and Jacob to take her home with them, she would have been raised by joyful, godly parents. She would have been spoiled by adoring grandparents and enjoyed Christmases overflowing with cousins. Molly would have been taught about God and His Word, and she surely would have impacted many people with the Gospel. (Although she has influenced many in her short time on earth!) But for an unfathomable reason, Heaven is a better place for Molly than the wonderful home she would have enjoyed here. And so that reminds me that Heaven must truly be some place I want to be.

2. Molly taught me to be thankful. My heart aches for Rebecca’s and Jacob’s empty arms. God has allowed me to have two sons at home with me, and (I’m embarrassed to admit) there are days that go by when I don’t acknowledge that every day He gives me with them is a precious gift. When there are sleepless nights and whining-filled days, it is tempting to view motherhood as an inconvenience. This week, I have been a little more grateful, a little more patient, and a more loving mom to my boys.

3. Molly taught me to pray. I have prayed more this week than I have in a long time. I pulled Ashley’s family photo off the fridge, and my sons prayed for her boys who would soon lose a cousin. I know others who have lost children, most of them prior to my knowing them. Molly has reminded me to add them to my list of people to pray for regularly.

4. Molly taught me to trust. When something like this happens to someone I know, I agonize, weep and pray for them. And, because I am a selfish being, then my thoughts turn to myself. What if this happened to me? How would I survive? I begin to feel anxious and fearful. This week I was reading a chapter from Linda Dillow’s “Calm My Anxious Heart,” and the chapter was titled “Trusting God with the What Ifs.” I was reminded of God’s character–His sovereignty, His faithfulness and His love for me–and encouraged to trust Him with all of my what ifs. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is in the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:7)

To Rebecca and Jacob and all the Rainey and Mutz families . . . my prayers are with you during this excruciatingly difficult time. Thank you for opening your lives to us and allowing us to share in your struggles, grief and hope, allowing God to teach us through you.

One of my favorite hymns, especially in times of difficulty, is “It Is Well With My Soul.” It was written by Horatio Spafford as he sailed in the Atlantic Ocean, where his four daughters had recently died. It seems fitting to share the words here. The first verse tells us that he has peace even in his grief, and the following verses tell us why.

When peace like a river attendeth my way, When clouds like a sea billow roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, “It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

Tho’ Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come, Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin- O, the bliss of this glorious thought -my sin, not in part, but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,

The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend, “Even so”- it is well with my soul.

It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.

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I can only imagine

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I can only imagine what it would be like to be sitting, reading your Bible, seeing dimly as in a mirror (I Corinthians 13) and then you blink . . . and you are not just spending time with God, but you are actually with God, surrounded by His glory, seeing face to face, knowing fully just as you are fully known (again, I Corinthians 13). This is what happened to my Grandpa B. last Sunday morning. And while we grieve his death with broken hearts, we rejoice that he is free of his weakening body and his confused mind and that he is home with his Savior. I wonder what he was reading when he died (so far, I only know he was reading his Bible), and what that must have been like to be reading along, perhaps wondering at the full meaning of something he was reading, and then all of a sudden experiencing the fulfillment of God’s gospel promises to us.

My Grandpa is one of my heroes. He grew up as a milkman’s son in Iowa, going with his father on morning deliveries, and seeing his father’s generosity during the Depression, when he made sure the families with children got their milk even if their bill was unpaid. (When I heard about that a few years ago, it explained so much to me about my Grandpa’s character.) He served in the Navy during WWII and loved to tell stories about his time on the USS Boise. He was a Presbyterian minister who preached until retirement age, tried to retire, but just couldn’t stay away. As he told me once, he couldn’t just sit around when he could be telling someone about God’s love for them. There is no way to count the number of people who were touched by his ministry.

And most importantly, he was the best grandpa a kid could ask for. When he saw us, he’d raise his fists and say, “Yippee!” and we would know we were the most important people in the world.  He played silly games with us, like pretending he couldn’t see us and saying, “Where’s Marissa? Has anyone seen Marissa?” while we jumped up and down in front of his face, laughing hysterically. Even when his mind had been taken by Alzheimer’s and he didn’t know who I was, I loved watching him play the same “falling asleep” game with my kids that he used to play with me. And I don’t know if they have food and drink in Heaven, but I can’t help wondering if it was my cousin, or maybe one of Grandpa’s parents, who took his hand on Sunday and said, “Come on, Grandpa, the coffee’s this way.” Because anyone who knew Grandpa knows of his love for three things: God, family and McDonald’s coffee. He never went anywhere with out his old, faded, plastic McDonald’s coffee cup. Did you forget your coffee cup? Don’t worry, Grandpa always had an extra, just for you.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 15:54-57

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