Luke 23:27

"A large crowd of people followed him; among them were some women who were weeping and wailing for him."


What a beautiful verse. These women who were following Jesus were so amazed at Him and so committed to Him,that when they were walking behind Him to the cross, they were so overcome with emotion all they could do was weep, and not just weep, they were wailing.
This verse hits something inside me. These women were so overcome with the sacrifice Jesus was about to make they couldn't help but cry over Him. It makes me all teary-eyed. This man, this innocent man died because I did something wrong, I am the sinner, I'm the one who is broken, yet He was broken and beaten for me, so I may be able to live with Him.
His love is overwhelming, His sacrifice is unreal, His suffering is unimaginable...We have a hard time picturing the amount of pain and torment He faced, it makes us cringe, we try to sugar-coat it. But make no mistake, the suffering Jesus faced was unbelievable. He took on the death we all deserve. Think about all the bad things you have done in your life, and now think of your best friend's list of sins, now add your family's list and what about your neighborhood, your school, your hometown, your state, the country. With all those bad things added up, think about every person that has ever lived and all the wrong things they have done. Now lets say, just to picture it, for every bad thing, wrong thing, sin someone has committed, that whole list of wrong-doings we just created, you added 1 pound of weight to a scale. So, I'm sure you get the picture, if you added 1 pound of weight for all those people and all those not-so-good things, the weight of all that crap, would be...um ridiculous. Think about it, would it be over 1 million pounds? 2 million? 1 billion? I can't wrap my mind around it, I honestly can't. Oh and one more thing, that weight is ALWAYS increasing, always. It never stops.
So bringing it back, Jesus, on the cross, took on that weight, that number, that load. While on the cross, He took that weight. It blows my mind. We can't even think of a number big enough to represent that weight. But He took it on Himself, He died for it so we didn't have to.
That thought, what He did, is incredible... That is a sacrifice a real sacrifice. think about the person you love most in this world, would you die for them?
Jesus died for you because He loves you that much.
So when thinking of it that way, these women were mourning His death, the suffering He was about to face, and celebrating it, because of the love of this one man.
And with that thought, the thought of celebration, I bring you to Sunday, June 12, 2011. This night would mark our first Woman's time here in Chicago. For those who aren't familiar with this phrase, it is a time where all the women on project get together and spend time with the Lord. Women's times have a stereotype attached, usually women get together and drink coffee and talk about purity or beauty or some other specific topic directed toward young women. The men usually get to play sports or do some crazy activity during Men's time, which sometimes frustrates us women who like to play games and have fun too. So when walking into Women's time, I had this idea in mind, "why do the guys always have fun and we have to talk about our feelings...again?!" but I tried to keep an open mind anyhow. Little did I know God was about to use those feelings and those women to change my heart and build a community.
So to make a long story short, Nancy, our director opened up the floor for sharing. Translation, if you have anything you are feeling guilty for, or want prayer for or need to get off your chest, this is a safe place and you can do it now.
Well, to protect the privacy and thoughts of these wonderful women, I will be brief about this particular part. The flood gates opened. Everyone was sharing some deep and painful stuff and it was incredible.
The room was filled with tears, sadness,sin, prayer and hope.
Not only did some women receive prayer and hope for some for their struggles, but they put it out on the open, removing its power. Sometimes sin has a tendency to control us when it knows we are alone and vulnerable, so when you announce it to a room of 50 Christ-like women who are prayerfully and passionately seeking victory over that sin and that temptation, you remove it's control and it's power. We created a community between us, because we could be honest with one another without the fear of rejection.
So not only did we conquer sin and create a bond between us, we glorified God just like those women who followed Jesus on the way to the cross.
We were weeping and wailing for Him, calling to attention our sinfulness and brokenness and remembering His sacrifice, His love and His promises. Glorifying all those things He did for us on the cross.
I came across that verse (Luke 23:27) that night after Women's time and it struck in me the power of what had just happened, and how much god was glorified in our weakness. Those women were not only wailing because Jesus was about to die, but they were wailing because Jesus was about to die for them. We were not only wailing because of our sin and our struggles, we were wailing for the glory God brought amidst those struggles. We were wailing because He died for us and because of that we didn't have to face those struggles any longer.

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful, just like we are because of Him.
Praise God for these women and the cross which made us flawless in His eyes.