The following excerpt taken from an article written by Charles F. Stanley, challenges us to look beyond the familiar and commonplace. It brings us face-to-face with an all-knowing yet unfathomable God. The words are deeply profound and yet childlike in their simplicity….both ordinary and extraordinary.
An Ordinary Tree—an Extraordinary Savior
“Of all the things that God could have used to bring about His awesome plan for humanity. He chose to use a tree.
There were so many ways Jesus could have been executed—the Romans certainly never ran out of terrible ways to hasten a person’s death. Jesus could have been pierced with a bow and arrow or stoned to death. He could have been suffocated, decapitated, or burned—as were many others in the early church. Jesus could even have been killed quickly with a sword or javelin.
Why do you suppose that God’s plan included having Jesus nailed to a tree?
And what kind of tree could it have been? When its seed first dropped to the ground, did God notice it? Did He watch it sprout and grow, knowing it was to be the tree? Was His eye on it all those years while it was climbing skyward and gaining strength? When it was cut down and assembled, did He take special care to guide the hands of the carpenter? And when God first saw it in its final form—as the cross—did He weep because of what His Son would endure?”
To read and download articles titled “7 Ways to Honor a Loved One’s Memory” and “Suicide Among Veterans” please visit www.grief-recovery.org
Life Resumed: Healing From Loss 