When I was in kindergarten, my attention span was shorter than most. At least that’s what Mama and Daddy said. But when my daddy wanted to get what he called “my undivided attention,” he knew just how to do it. He would walk right up to me, kneel down so we were face to face, and gently hold my face in his hands. He’d look straight into my eyes and say, “Bill, what I’m about to say is very important. So, I want your undivided attention. Are you listening?” He didn’t do that often, but when he did, I knew he meant business.
The first time I stood in that courtyard in Jerusalem where those soldiers had beaten Jesus nearly to death and knelt where they nailed him to that cross, something chilling happened inside me. It was as if God took my face in His hands, looked into my soul and said, “Bill, I want your undivided attention. Listen to me and don’t ever forget. Where you are this day is real. It’s a real place, where my real son, suffered real torture and a real death to pay for your real sins.”
Since that first trip to Jerusalem, when I read the word cross, see a painting of the cross, hear the word cross sung or spoken, sometimes I can again hear my Heavenly Father whisper to my heart, “Bill, you still have a short attention span. So, listen up my child. Keep on remembering. Jesus didn’t deserve to die. He voluntarily took your place on that cross.”
In all you do, show Jesus how grateful you are. Take a little time each day to close your eyes and picture him on the cross. Take his blood-stained hands in your hands. Look into his eyes. And with all your heart, tell him, “Thank you, my Lord Jesus, for what you did for me.”
Bill