Aron Ralston, hiker, gained fame he probably wished he could have avoided.
He was in a Utah canyon when he became trapped by a rock. Alone, unable to free himself, he made the fateful decision to cut off his arm rather than die alone.
The stone was big for him to move on his own.
Stones come in all shapes and sizes. Some are financial, others are emotional, and there are those that society plunks in our way, and we can’t get past them.
We’re trapped in a canyon, and we cannot get free.
John breaks our canyon wide open with these verses:
John 17:1 tells us of Jesus’ trust in the power of his Father:
“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.’ ”
John 19:14 reveals the part Pilate played:
“Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ ”
John 19:19 is the clue the world missed:
“Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ ”
John 19:30 gives us Jesus trapped by death:
“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
John 20:1 is the stone of death cast aside:
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.”
The devil tried to trap Jesus with the greatest stone of all: death. Yet, Jesus cast the stone aside, and he rose again. He offers us the same power. When we feel trapped by the circumstances of our lives, let’s do what Aron Ralston did. Let’s look at what we must slice away so that we are no longer trapped by our problems. What holds us is not what’s important. It’s the life we receive when we walk away from it that matters.
Jesus didn’t get caught up in the cross, letting it defeat him. He moved past it, and he brought salvation to all who come to him.
What we turn loose of makes it easier to follow Christ.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.D.25.15b.vp.esv
Originally Published 7-12-15 in Hope