Pondering...

"Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit..." -Luke 23:46

This verse is driving me crazy today. In a good way; it's making me wonder. This morning in church we read it, & for some reason I immediately started thinking about the Apostles' Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven & earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit & born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, & was buried.
He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven & is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
He will come again to judge the living & the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
& the life everlasting.
Amen.

The part that says "He descended into hell..." I started thinking how we put so much emphasis on the cross, but that the worst was yet to come. It makes sense to me that since Jesus took our sins upon His own shoulders, He would have to pay for them the way we would have, which would be hell.

I know there is a lot of controversy over this. According to my friend Mr. Wikipedia, Roman Catholics, among other denominations, still recite this version, which includes that part; United Methodists instead say "was crucified, dead, & buried..."; the ecumenical version says, "He descended into the dead." Whether this descending into hell part is figurative or literal, it's a big deal.

If it is to be read literally, that's just crazy...a crazy love that would go to HELL for us. Not that I'm doubting that Jesus would whether He did or not...I know that He totally would. But, I wouldn't want to be in hell for one second, much less 3 days.

I guess the answer is...it doesn't matter. He died [...] He ascended. The ellipses doesn't matter. What matters is the salvation that came from it.

"Madly in Love with You"
Sean McConnell

See you down there everyday
Trying to find a different way
To build some kind of ladder to the sky

Trying to find some way to see
Secrets of eternity, & they don't come all at once
And you don't know why ...

...I know you wish you could see Me
That's the way it has to be,
Someday you'll understand,
don't you lose your faith in Me

I know you wish you could hear Me
Sometimes it's so hard to do
But every morning sunrise it says
I'm madly in love with you
Yes, I'm madly in love with you
Yes, I'm madly in love with you
Yes, I'm madly in love with you

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, & it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe & not doubt." -James 1:5