A Question to Ponder: What If?

It's a good time of the year for pondering.  This Saturday between Crucifixion Friday and Resurrection Sunday is a good time for some deep thinking.  Some pondering.

What does it mean to ponder anyway?  It means, according to dictionary.com, "to consider something deeply and thoroughly; to meditate; to weigh carefully in the mind; to consider thoughtfully."  

Exactly what is it we need to be pondering?

A well-known hymn calls us to "ponder anew what the Almighty can do."   Certainly that's worthy of pondering.

But here on this Passover Saturday between Crucifixion Friday and Resurrection Sunday, there's something else to be pondered.  We ponder not just "what the Almighty can do," but what He has already done.  This is a good time to ponder what has been done for us. To ponder the price paid for our salvation.

How many times have you gone to the grocery store with shopping list in hand, only to leave the store without purchasing some of the items on that list?  You didn't make the purchase because it cost too much.

You went to the mall and found a dress or a pair of shoes you loved.  But you didn't make the purchase.  It cost too much.

Have you ever stopped to think about - to ponder - how different things would be if that's what Jesus had said?  What if, when confronted with the price He would have to pay for our salvation, He had said "no, that costs too much.  I won't pay that." 

Have you ever stopped to think about - to ponder - exactly what it cost Him to purchase your salvation?

As we are celebrating the resurrection, it's a good time for some pondering.  Think about - really think about - ponder - the price that Jesus paid.  For you.  For me.

As you're making your preparations, and shopping for new clothes, and doing your grocery shopping and cooking and baking, and planning your table setting, don't miss the most important part of Easter.  Don't forget the price He paid.  And why He was willing to pay it.

Where would we be?  What if He had said no?  What if He had said it cost too much?  What if?

"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; he was despised and we esteemed him not.  Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed."             (Isaiah 53:3-5 ESV)

"Then Jesus said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.......' and going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'"  (Matthew 26:38-39 ESV)

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God."  (1 Peter 3:18 NASB)