UNAPPRECIATED

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem.

Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:1-5

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It was Mother’s Day, a day to celebrate the women who God blessed with bearing His children, the women who dedicate so much of their lives to caring for their children and their households.

Typically, this holiday is marked with celebration and expressions of thanks unto mothers for all they have done and all they are doing. The idea is to let them know how much their sacrifices are valued and prized. But this year, one mother I know did not get anything for her special day. Not a card, no breakfast in bed, no gift showing gratitude for all that she does for three small children who are all too young to understand the holiday and the proper way to commemorate it. As you could guess, this particular mother was badly hurt and feeling grossly unappreciated.

And then there was a man who came to his place of employment faithfully every day, working hard and doing whatever he was told to do. He did this day in and day out but his supervisor never once told him how much she appreciated all that he did. There were never words of praise but if the man made a mistake, correction would always come quickly. The supervisor’s “slow to praise but quick to criticize” leadership approach wore on the man’s spirit until he lost all satisfaction in his job.

These are just two real life examples of things that have happened to people I know. Maybe you have your own story of feeling unappreciated by someone in your own life. I think we may have all experienced it at some time or another and if we haven’t, then stand by because it’s bound to happen sooner or later.

In fact, even Jesus had to endure it.

We know this because God’s word tells us so as we look at the opening verses of Isaiah, Chapter 53, words that convey what may be the most blatant example of unappreciation ever and sadly it’s still happening today. Look again at these verses here:

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem.

Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.  Isaiah 53:1-5

Jesus, the Savior of the world, was sent by God, His Father, to walk among us and teach us how to live and love and learn in the kind of righteousness He desired. He grew up like any other young boy. There was nothing that distinguished Him and brought special attention. No, He was unassuming with no beauty or majesty that would have drawn anyone’s attention, that is until He became a man and started to put His miraculous powers on full display, healing and teaching and even resurrecting out of a deep love for all people, Jew or Gentile, the self righteous or the sinners that were too proud and blind to associate with, although they were just as bad.

So was Jesus revered and respected for all that He did?

We know the answer to that question already and it’s one we should forever be ashamed of. Because this Son of God was not worshipped but rather despised, rejected, and held in low esteem, so much so that a majority of the very people He had served so wonderfully and selflessly, called for Him to be executed by crucifixion on a cross, the most horrendous possible for a criminal in New Testament times. The loving, caring Messiah would die as a man of suffering who well knew pain in its rawest, most piercing form.

And He did it so we wouldn’t have to.

That’s what makes the unappreciation of Jesus so mortifying and inexcusable. Here was a man who was like no ordinary man although He was treated as such. This was God’s one and only Son whose true purpose for coming to earth was to take the pain and suffering we deserved and bear it in our place. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities and yet, people could not (and still cannot) grasp the amazing display of love, grace, and mercy that was taking place right in front of their eyes. Instead, they believed that Jesus was going through what He was because He had wronged God in some way and thus received the death penalty for it, when in reality, He was pierced for the very people who derided and mocked Him. By His wounds, all of mankind became healed from the sin that would have led them to destruction, given the opportunity to leave death behind for a chance to live for all eternity with the Jesus who died for them and the God who sent His Son to save us out of love. All that is required is that we believe in Jesus as our Savior (John 3:16).

Friends, it’s paramount in our faith life that we make it our number one priority to ensure we appreciate Jesus for all He did for us, honoring Him for the depth of sacrifice He was willing to go to in order to save us. For when we do this, when we truly appreciate Jesus for all He has done, we develop an attitude of gratitude in our worldly life, consistently showing our appreciation to one another as well, an extension of the deep, selfless devotion He had for us when He died on Calvary’s cross.

In the end translation, there’s a beauty that comes with having a heart full of appreciation and thankfulness. Today and every day, let us all show Jesus the fullest measure of our admiration and praise for surely He is more worthy of it than anyone else.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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