Behold The Cost

 

Behold the cost and don’t look away.

This world is types and shadows, mere reflections of spiritual realities. I see many well-intentioned believers clinging to types and shadows as the substance, when Scripture clearly teaches us that all things point to Christ Who is the Substance (Col 2:17). The reality of Christ and our spiritual truths in Him, is where our narrow path is directed (John 5:39; Col 1:17 & 3:11; 1 Cor 15:28). The foot of the cross is where our individual path ends and we can walk no farther on our own. Our individual path ends at the cross where our hands are nailed down to end all attempts to save ourselves by our own self-sufficiency, and our feet nailed down so we cannot walk the path of self-will. Our faith in the physical reality of the cross is where the path of Self ends because that is where we are joined with Christ spiritually and now there are two on the narrow path instead of one.

The initial challenge of all humanity is for us to even tread to the foot of the cross in the first place—to face that cross and look upon the crucified flesh of our Lord and behold the cost of sin. To face the fruit of Self—treachery in the heart of mankind against his own Creator. The Spirit says to us all, “You would live your life much differently if you had actually watched the Son be crucified.” That is because there is a disconnect between us and our sin until our eyes witness the cost of it. God taught us about sin at the cost of His own flesh. Thus, we must behold the bloody, macabre spectacle of His humiliation and death without giving into our instinct to preserve Self and look away.

Then we must sit there at His bloody feet as we learn to wait upon the Lord. We sit in that blood, we sit in that payment for sin as we fight the urge to look away. We allow Him to strip us of our own substance, as we allow Him to teach us the meaning behind the types and shadows. We let go of what we thought we knew, of what we thought we understood, as He brings us to a place in which we must be carried as He keeps asking us with every step, “Are you willing?” Are you willing to trust Me? Are you willing to surrender? Are you willing to die? We sit at the foot of that cross as Self wrestles with God. As His brilliant light exposes all the dark corners of our heart and Self cries out, “Your beauty only magnifies my ugliness!” As Self fights the urge to look away and writhes in agony, just as He writhed in agony on that cross. As Self is put to death and crucified, pound by pound, and all the life drains out of it, just like the life was drained out of Him.

The utter death of Christ’s flesh is what led to utter life through His resurrection. Do you see beloved? The law of the kingdom of God is utter life from utter death. Just like God taught ancient Israel spiritual truths through physical realities, the same is true for His church. As we gaze upon the death of Christ’s flesh on the cross, the Spirit says, “Behold your spiritual truth, behold the path of salvation, behold your Savior, behold His suffering, His humiliation, His death.”

Behold the end of your path where you can walk no farther on your own two feet.
Behold the power of God unto salvation.
Behold your need.
Behold the cost.
And don’t look away.

(John 12:31-33) “Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all to Myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.

(John 3:14-21) Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish by have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but to save it through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.