“Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around Him were shouting, ‘Praise God! Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the LORD!’” Mark 11:9 NLT
The Center
This took place on Palm Sunday. Scripture tells us in verse 8 that many people spread their garments on the road ahead of Him, and others spreads palm leaves before Him. It never ceases to amaze me that Jesus was the center of this procession, and yet less than a week later, on Good Friday, He would be the center of another procession, one where people would be cursing and beating Him, and where “they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side and Jesus in the center” (John 19:18).
How could there be such a disparity in thinking and acting in such a short amount of time? I think the answer can be found in a C.S. Lewis quote: “From the moment a creature becomes aware of God as God and of itself as self, the terrible alternative of choosing God or self for the center is opened to it.”
In the first procession the people chose God as the center, in the second one they chose themselves.
Who do I choose to be the center? Who do I trust to make the important decisions in my life? Who do I give the most attention to? What do I shout at God and His Son… blessings—in the form of gratitude and praise, or cursing—in the form of grumbling and self-will?
Do I make it all about Him or all about me?
I found these lyrics from Jesus At the Center.*
“From my heart to the Heavens
Jesus be the center
It’s all about You
Yes it’s all about You”
“Lord, may we never cease to praise You. Help us to make our lives all about You and choose You, rather than ourselves, to be the center. Amen.”
Yes. AMEN