It’s Just Too Hard!

In 2004, Mel Gibson directed the movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” The movie was a soul-stirring, graphic depiction of the death of Jesus.

I ran across this picture of Mel Gibson sitting on set with Jim Caviezel, the man who portrayed Jesus in the movie.

Some may find this picture offensive and think I shouldn’t have used it in this article, but I think it begs to be allegorized.

In this picture, there sits Mel Gibson, seemingly explaining something to the “crucified Jesus.” While this is just a movie set, I couldn’t help but think of how we all must some day stand before a crucified Savior and give an account of our lives (2 Cor. 5:10).

When I saw this picture, I couldn’t help but think how hollow our excuses will ring when we offer them to a Savior who died for us, even the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8).

Can you imagine offering any of the following excuses to a crucified Savior?

• “The reason I didn’t follow you was that it was too hard.”
• “I just felt like Christianity expected too many sacrifices from me. After all, I did have a family.”
• “I would have been a better disciple, but none of my peers were into that, and they made fun of me, making it hard for me to be faithful.”
• “It just cost too much to be a Christian.”

Do you see what I’m saying? This picture, at least for me, is a poignant reminder that the feeble excuses we frequently use to justify our lack of devotion and sacrifice will be embarrassingly and woefully inadequate in the presence of a crucified Savior.

So tell me again, why you couldn’t faithfully serve the Lord? Better give that some thought in light of the above picture.