“No man can pay a price to God for his life.
The ransom of his soul is beyond him.
He cannot buy life without end, nor avoid coming to the grave.”
(Psalm 49:7-9)
Dear Friends –
The horrific brutality inflicted upon Jesus during His passion and death by crucifixion is upsettingly difficult to read in the Gospel accountings. One of His own disciples betrays Him to the enemy, and a mock trial ensues which causes Him to endure the lies of contempt and humiliation 
while being physically struck, repeatedly. He is openly ridiculed, and given a purple robe and “crown” to wear while being scourged. The crown pressed onto His head is made of thorns, and causes the blood to flow down His face as He is forced to carry His cross through the streets riddled with hecklers to His place of execution. Physically and emotionally spent by the ordeal thus far, He is laid upon a cross to feel the excruciating blows of the mallet that affixes His body with nails to the timbers through His hands and feet. An inscription was written and put on the cross that stated here was Jesus, King of the Jews, and the cross then placed upright in the noonday sun, caused Jesus to thirst as the onlookers watched His final breaths transpire. Such unbelievable agony willingly submitted to and endured by Jesus, is the RANSOM PAID for the salvation of our souls.
Why would Jesus submit to that merciless torment? He could have walked away from this inhumane behavior at any time, but instead He even kept telling 
His disciples for months ahead how this was precisely going to happen… that salvation prophecies would be fulfilled through Him, the Messiah. Obedient to God The Father, Jesus knew the sins of the world had to be redeemed, not ignored, and thus His willing submission to sacrificial death was the only way the payment for sin could be accomplished, as God The Father required. Consequently, Jesus Christ was not only the obedient Son of God, He was without question a tremendous lover of humankind that He gave His life that we might have eternal life. The Sacred Heart of Jesus abounds with such unimaginable love, for who gives their life away so freely for sinful people? The abundant love of Christ throughout His life on earth was well documented by miraculous cures, feeding the bodies and souls of His followers, preaching and showing the truth of God The Father, 
and extensively traveling to all and denying none the power at His disposal. He spent Himself completely for humankind, while personally gaining nothing… that is INCOMPREHENSIBLE PERFECT LOVE.
As we rise from the dormancy of winter to the glorious bursting forth of springtime this Easter, let us ponder our own mortality and resurrection to immortality, thanks be to Jesus Christ. How can we repay Him for His great sacrifice that benefits us so tremendously… by returning sincere love for His having loved us first. Our world was created as an act of love by Almighty God, our sinful nature was redeemed by an act of love by Jesus Christ, and our happiness in life is granted as an act of love by the Holy Spirit who resides in us when allowed, by an act of love.
SACRIFICE
The forty-day period prior to Easter Sunday is called Lent, and some churches with respect to Christ’s fasting, suggest that members do the same in some manner. A sparse diet is the obvious first choice for most, and children will gladly give up broccoli until reminded that doing without something we don’t like is not considered sacrifice. The suggestion of going
without candy or sweets makes the child cringe for that will hurt, and a sacrifice is usually considered painful… but not always. To take and give something that is ours, like time or treasure to benefit another, is also considered sacrifice without causing physical pain. Time is very precious to some avid workaholics, so to donate hours to church work, visiting the sick, or any other community effort that would not benefit them personally is a sacrificial offering received by Almighty God. Children might be encouraged to give up spending their allowance on themselves and contribute money and time to the less fortunate in some personal manner or through the missionaries. Whatever we do to replicate Christ’s ultimate sacrifice will be received by Christ as an act of love, while demonstrating our sincere desire to follow in His footsteps for mankind’s redemption.
One of Christ’s better-known parables is the marvelous narrative on The Good Samaritan. Robbers stripped and beat up a man leaving him half-dead by the side of the road. A Priest and a Levite both saw the victim but crossed the road to avoid an encounter. But not so for The Good Samaritan whose heart was 
moved with compassion and immediately cared for the victim, even paying an innkeeper to continue the care at his expense until he got back. (Luke 10:30-37) Americans are very good at coming to the rescue with aid and support for fellow Americans caught in nature’s destructive path or any other tragedy. However, when Russia attacked Ukraine, President Biden held off canceling our buying of Russian oil because it would affect our gasoline prices! Unwilling to endure immediate sacrifice to help another like The Good Samaritan is the latest debacle in America’s demise on the world stage. Biden’s weakness is apparent worldwide, causing his senior staff to render damage control for his missteps and misspeaks. America is losing her Christian heart and soul that always made her stand out as a prominent world leader, but not so anymore because nonbelievers are now the majority of our population… another reason to expeditiously promote Evangelization. Nonbelievers prefer to think of self-first, not the injured party, and thus the devil’s stronghold grows through tolerated evil as in the likes of Putin. 
The mindset to sacrifice, fight evil, and conquer the gates of hell should be our priority, everywhere, but we hesitate to demonstrate to God our unwillingness to follow Christ, and that we would rather be our own disgusting selfish selves, not children of God.
Sacrifice can cause the very loss of life as Christ exemplified, however, as God The Father exemplified, He is omnisciently aware of every single sacrificial offering, and He will recompense accordingly with a resurrection that always conquers evil’s momentary sting of death. Physically and spiritually, victims of evil rise to new life for Satan’s power is limited and in no way can outmaneuver God’s omnipotent abilities. In the beginning was The Word, and being the Alpha and Omega, God has the last Word… judgment… nothing escapes Him.
