Free Accommodations
Of all the "places" Terri and I have been, we are most eagerly looking forward to visiting this one ! Imagine a place where the owner is willing to go out of this world to prepare a place specifically for you, and is willing to die to ensure your safety and security !!! A place where the amenities and furnishings are of the most precious materials known to man, and the food and drink are abundant and satisfying. As amazing as it may sound, we found just such a place, and have made reservations far in advance.
The owner contacted us personally, in an incredible series of letters, informing us that the bill had been prepaid and that free accommodations were open to all, who registered according to the the terms of reservation. The terms were more than fair, considering the exorbitant cost and the length of stay, so we registered and are looking forward to our trip.
After we learned that the host's son had been violently murdered, while earning the price of the free accommodations, the significance of this trip took on a new meaning. The story has received world wide coverage, yet I find that many people I talk to are unaware of this series of events. Although there was nothing extraordinary about the murder itself, the events leading up to it and the impact of this man's death and the resulting events that followed, have had an earth-shaking impact on every continent !
The host's son was busy carrying out business for his father, and had incurred the jealousy of some local officials, who secretly arranged for his murder at the hand of unscrupulous government officials. After subjecting the innocent young man to a night of torture, ridicule and grilling, they dragged him out of town, mutilated his body and hung him on a cross.
Yes, the "son" was Jesus, the son of God, the Inn I've been referring to is heaven and the cost was Christ's blood. He paid the ultimate price for the ultimate accommodations, heaven for eternity, for you and I and they are absolutely free for the asking. You see, because of our sin (our choice to do what God has said not to do) the most important of relationships, our relationship with God, was broken and we couldn't go to heaven until it was restored. But the only way that could happen was if Jesus, his only son, died in our place. He was innocent and had never been separated from God the Father, but he volunteered to come to earth (the business trip) and live just as we do, enduring the hardships, heartaches and difficulties of human existence for 33 years.
Then he chose to die an agonizing death on the cruelest of torture devices known to the Roman era, the cross. After having his back torn to shreds like raw meat from a scourging with a cat-o-ninetails, and being beaten by a garrison of Roman soldiers, betrayed by his own countrymen and one he called a friend, he was nailed to a rough hewn wooden cross through his wrists and ankles.
Then the cross was raised into position, and thus suspended for a hideous moment, it was dropped into the ground and came to a gut wrenching sudden halt, jarring his entire body by the bones and joints of his wrists and ankles, which were probably the only thing holding him to the cross (except his love for you)
Many people probably died during the scourging, or out of shock from being nailed to the cross, they were the lucky ones. Those who survived these horrors, died the agonizing death of suffocation, having to pull against the spikes in their ankles and wrists, to lift their torso above the level of their outstretched arms, so they could get a breath. Let any man who wants to say that Christ was a sissy last thru six hours of that ! But he did. And he did it for you.
But that is only where the story begins. Three days later, he arose from the dead and after staying and explaining things to his disciples for almost two months, he returned to God the Father, to prepare a place for us in the best of accommodations -- heaven !!! What other religion can claim that their "god" did all that for them ?
If you would like more info on what Christ's sacrifice for you means and how you can benefit from it click here