Day Seventeen

Day Seventeen // March 8 // The Pierced Side

“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.” – Khalil Gibran –

On the cross, with arms outstretched and head crowned with mocking thorns, our Lord bowed His head in reverent prayer. And died. For you. And for me. He surrendered His life in stunning obedience that we might glimpse the extraordinary love of the Almighty. But even in death, His torment was not complete. The soldiers had orders. They had a mission to see accomplished. They had a job to see complete: Death.

Lifeless and forlorn, the body of our Savior hung suspended halfway between the heavens above and the earth He came to save below. It was finished… but who could be sure? Certainty was what the governor

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commanded. So, with cruel iron spear, the soldiers did their work, stabbing the tender side of Jesus.

Sinews that had once stooped to reach the lowly, muscles that had once ached with noble laughter, now winced at the precision of Roman execution. Lungs that breathed righteousness and breath that spoke love were, now, pierced as a torrent of blood and water came streaming down.

Like every other wound on our precious Lord’s body, there is a Truth here that needs to be learned: that the character of those with whom we share life – the influence of those we have at our side – is critical. Christianity is a social religion. It is meant to be lived in community. But how often do we stop to truly examine the relationships that we nurture?

From the opening pages of the Bible, we see the lesson. It was from Adam’s side that Eve was created (Genesis 2:22). Those we fellowship with, those we journey with, those we speak to and learn from – they have tremendous influence over us. “Bad company corrupts good character,” Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:33. It is critical, then, that we take the time to prayerfully discern the nature of those we allow close to our side: our friends and partners and acquaintances and companions.

And what we find may astound us. Just look at those Jesus invited to His side. They weren’t the best. They weren’t the brightest. They struggled and argued and fell. But He saw something in them worth investing in.

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Jesus saw something in them no one else could. And, in bringing them close to His side, He changed their lives forever. We, as Christ’s followers and as members of His Body, are endowed with that same great strength: to walk side-by-side with others into the transformation God demands of all.