23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
One of the hardest jobs in life is being a shock absorber. Think about it. The car’s shock absorber is definitely not in control of the path of the journey. It is part of a larger system that follows the will of someone else. It cannot smooth the road or swerve to miss a pothole. It must do its job or catastrophic consequences can follow its failure. It takes the brunt of pain and never gets to speak its mind until it is worn out. Then it simply gets to squeak. Jesus was like a shock absorber for the world’s sins. While the insults and suffering came His direction, He just kept doing what He knew was His mission in life. He could have retaliated, after all He was the Creator of the Universe. He had the power to do so. And yet when they kidded Him about the timing of his birth and His “father in heaven,” He did not fire back with the truth. He absorbed the sin. When His miracles were attributed to the enemy of all our souls, He knew His words would not be fully headed, so He sucked up their sin. When they mockingly called Him His proper title, there was no correcting of their voice tone. When they beat his body unjustly, He did not call the fighting forces of heaven to come to His aid. He took it, uttering not even a word. If we are to be like Jesus, even when suffering unjustly, then we must learn to entrust ourselves as Jesus did. Wow, that is a difficult task, isn’t it? And yet the walk of faith continues silently in the background over time. The insults and suffering came at specific points in Jesus’ life, and yet He continued not to retaliate or make threats. He didn’t harbor animosity or hatred, storing it up for just the right moment. He let it go, knowing that He Himself would provide payment for their sins, even those sins aimed directly against Him. Are you able to forgive those whose sin in directed at you? If not, get a few lessons on absorbing from our Master, Jesus.
The Arnold Journey 