Loving Like Jesus Through the Desert of Pain

Loving like Jesus is having that responsibility that no matter what's going on, what type of pain we're going through, we don't become distracted by it, but yet we carry that life and love of Jesus through our pain. Pain becomes a platform for love to be revealed. Deserts are a place of discovery. They're a place where love is revealed and experienced even in the midst of pain. When we are hurting, we continue to love God and love others, and we don't let it distract us from all that God has done for us or allow for bitterness to root inside of us. [01:10:42] (42 seconds)  #LoveThroughPain

How did he love on the cross in that moment? We see him loving in three different ways. He loved by providing. He provided care for his mother. He loved by enduring, by enduring all of that, not just the physical, not just the emotional, but the spiritual pain. And he endured it for our behalf. And then he loved by forgiving. Not just that he asked for forgiveness on behalf of those that tortured him and nailed him to that cross, but he also forgave the man who was crucified right next to him. Talk about loving through pain. [01:08:52] (45 seconds)  #LovingOnTheCross

So what happened is on the cross, the entirety of sin of humanity, past, present, and future, is placed on Jesus. Now God the father, being a fur perfect god, turns his back on him. And Jesus cries out on the cross, Matthew twenty seven forty six, my god, my god, why have you forsaken me? There is a spiritual pain here that no living human being has ever experienced, God turning his back on them. We may feel like we're far away from God, but we have may have created that distance, but he never leaves us. This is a complete separation. This is a pain no human has ever felt, and yet God has this [01:07:20] (41 seconds)  #ForsakenMoment

It's a statement that is so profound and so hard to fully understand and apply in our daily lives, but we see that Jesus loved through pain. He loved through emotional pain. He loved through physical pain, and, yes, Jesus even loved through spiritual pain. But through all of it, pain never pulled him away or distracted him from his purpose or distract him from loving people. Deserts are a place of discovery. [00:49:17] (27 seconds)  #JesusLovedThroughPain

In the mid nineties, a team of scientists, engineers, and one thrill seeker set off to do the impossible. They wanted to break the sound barrier on land. The team had engineered the perfect car, but in all of their calculations and simulations, they realized one thing, the location had to be perfect for the amazing to be accomplished. So the search began, and what the team realized is that it needed a wide open space, desolate, void of obstacles and distractions. It had to be remote, away from others for safety and security. [00:45:47] (37 seconds)  #DesertForTheRecord

The car's aluminum body became began to crack under the strain and the pressure. It began to dissolve from being sandblasted at high speeds. The heat from the sun on the metal was so hot that if the jet fuel hit the body, it would combust and ignite. The team itself began having physical problems. Long days of sun exposure were beginning to take its toll. Brakes began to fail due to the high temperatures. Fires were constantly occurring. Parachutes that assisted in braking were failing over and over due to the elements. [00:47:03] (30 seconds)  #MetalUnderPressure

Money also began running out. This passion project of so many now seemed threatened due to the pains of the desert. Andy Green, the pilot one morning climbed in and said these words, even if it hurts, we have to push through and try. His chief engineer looked at him and asked why, and Andy replied, for the love of the thrill. So on 10/15/1997, after several tests and failed attempts, over fifty days in the desert, a dust trail streaked across the desert floor, [00:47:33] (33 seconds)  #ForTheLoveOfTheThrill

And in scripture, we see so many biblical characters have these experiences with almighty God in the desert. Moses, after killing the Egyptian, flees out into the desert in the wilderness, and there is where he has an experience with God in the burning bush. God calls him to go back to Egypt and lead the children of Israel out of slavery and bondage. Where does he lead them to? Right back to the desert. [00:49:58] (28 seconds)  #MosesInTheDesert