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The Crucified Reflected on the Wall

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Sunday entries are taken from the classic devotional series In Christ by E. Stanley Jones.

CONSIDER THIS

We have begun  to see that being in Christ is being in reality. When you put yourself in Him by surrender and trust and obedience, you do not put yourself into a segment of life—an isolated movement going back to Jesus of Nazareth. You put yourself into Life itself; for He is the outcropping of that which is underlying the universe, underlying reality.

We were shown a mirror which had been used in the days when Christians were persecuted in Japan, when it was death to be a Christian. When we let the sunlight fall on this mirror, the reflection upon the ceiling was Jesus hanging on the cross in a circle of light, very distinct and plain. The people sat and worshiped in their houses with the Crucified before them. If anyone not known to be a Christian came in, the mirror was quietly taken out of the sun’s rays and the Crucified disappeared.

We were also shown a crucifix that had been used by the government in those days of persecution. It was placed on the ground, and everybody had to tread on the face of the Crucified. The non-Christians did not hesitate to tread on His face; the real Christians refused and were killed. The face of Jesus was worn down and marred by people’s treading on it.

Through the ages the face of Jesus has been trodden on by persecution, by neglect, by the misrepresentation of His own followers, by hate and rejection—trodden on till His face is marred more than any man (see Isaiah 52:14). Yet the light of God falls on the facts of life like the sun upon that mirror, and before our astonished gaze the Crucified is before us upon the walls of destiny. The discoveries of science, the uncovering of the nature and needs of man through psychology—the sheer needs of life fall upon the mirror of nature, and the Crucified is upon the walls of this and every age.

THE PRAYER

O Jesus, it was said of Thee, “he could not be hid” (Mark 7:24). Again Thou canst not be hid. Thou art shining forth from the depths of life, for Thou art Life. Help me this day to open my life to Life. Amen.

AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY

I will see the cross in everything I see today, for it is there—an open secret.

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WHAT IS THIS? Wake-Up Call is a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus. Each morning our community gathers around a Scripture, a reflection, a prayer, and a few short questions, inviting us to reorient our lives around the love of Jesus that transforms our hearts, homes, churches, and cities.

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