Written by Mark Driskill:
Good Friday, April 22, 2011
Read Luke 23:26-31
“For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

A man beaten beyond recognition stumbles to his feet as Simon of Cyrene lifts the cross from his shoulders. Stumbling through the streets he can feel his life giving blood mingling with the dusty streets. Amidst the echoing cacophony of curses he manages to catch a few loving voices of wailing and grief.

Straining to see beyond his sweat and blood he calls out to those who are weeping on his behalf.  With remarkable clarity he bids them not to weep for him, but for themselves.  He tells them that days are coming when they will say, “blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore…” Then he says, “If they do these things when the wood is green, what will they do when it is dry?” In other words, if they can be this cruel and unjust when the Messiah is walking the streets, and bringing the kingdom in their midst, what will they do when he’s gone? If they do such things when God is among them what will they do when they need him and can’t find him? That’s a good question to ask today.

If we are so nonchalant about the Lord Jesus in a day when the word of God and the ministry of his word is so accessible to us, What will we do when we can’t seem to find him? And if, in days of relative ease, we nail him to the cross while we pursue our own pleasures and ambitions, asking him just to hang there until we need him, what will we do when things we have taken for granted are taken away? What will we do when the tree of wealth and freedom withers beneath the scorching heat of trial?

If I cannot find time to pray and seek God when his word is so available what will I do when it is taken away from me? If I don’t have the time and energy to give myself in service to the master, and I keep telling myself one day when I get the kids raised, and the jobs finished, and the house paid off I will finally take him off the cross and let him lead me, what will I do when I am worn out from all the decades spent pursuing life and my body and spirit begin to falter under the strain of time and circumstance? If I can’t find it in myself to serve the Lord when I am in the “green season” of life what will I do when I have lost my strength and can’t get around anymore? If I crucify Jesus when life is good how can I expect to do any better when things get hard?

Jesus told his disciples, “We must work while it is day, for night comes when no one can work.” Right now the savior is in your midst. He is healing in your streets and teaching in your churches. He is bringing the kingdom to you every day. Will you nail him up to some dark corner of your house while you chase after other things? Will you ignore his voice in the “green” days of life when he is so easy to find? Or will you awaken from your slumber and go after him now while the opportunity is ripe? Behold, now is the day of salvation. If you hear his voice don’t harden your heart. Don’t waste today or you will regret it tomorrow.

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten by the word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten by the word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)

Contact information:
Email: driskill@hilbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.