I'm really enjoying pondering the thoughts in the comments section of the previous post. Thanks for contributing guys.

To add some clarity, I want to make it clear that the tongue can be very destructive, even deadly. It is a weapon and scripture warns against letting it wag freely. If we can tame the tongue, we've gained much for sure. In my previous post I was focusing on the cursing issue, not the tongue as a whole. I've read that if your love language (or is it spiritual gift?) is encouragement (like mine) then the opposite quality (discouragement, criticism) can be a weakness. Unfortunately, I know this to be true in my life, so the scriptures about the tongue are not lost on me :( I sure wish taming my tongue were not an issue for me!

Regarding the issue of Jesus' death, I don't have any more answers, but I want to share an exercise I did yesterday. You may remember I said it was just Jesus' thing to go to the cross, his calling you might say. So I tried to imagine someone else I love going to the cross. I tried to imagine Shane being stripped, bleeding from thorns pressed down onto his head, and beat in the head over and over. This brought some emotional response but not until I put my child in that place did I feel strong emotions. Of course, Jesus was God's only son...

I'm not sure why my emotions are skewed here. Maybe because Shane is an adult...and my child is more innocent (I know that's not exactly biblical, but you know what I mean). Yet Jesus was innocent-more innocent than a newborn baby. Maybe because my child is my offspring...

Told you I didn't have any answers. Maybe I need to watch the Passion of the Christ again. I honestly don't recall my reaction the first time, but like Luke I do remember being moved by Mary's reaction. I have wanted to show the movie to Ashlyn around Easter but wondered if she's old enough, so I know it is strong.

Thanks for talking through this with me, continue the discussion with me, iron sharpening iron is a good thing!