And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. (Mk.15:20-21)

In three of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) we find almost a footnote to the crucifixion. Each of the three writers mentions a man named Simon from Cyrene who was apparently not previously known to the disciples of Jesus. He was most likely entering Jerusalem for the Passover. The gospels simply say that he was coming in from the country and found himself caught up in the drama of the crucifixion of the Christ.   Because Jesus had been so brutalized by flogging and beating, he was struggling to carry his cross (probably the cross member only). The Romans, not out of compassion but in a hurry to get this done, compelled a man in the crowd to carry the cross for Jesus.

That is all we are told and yet Simon shows up in three gospels and his sons are mentioned in Mark. These gospels were written decades after the crucifixion so why would they remember this obscure man’s name or the names of his sons? The only answer seems to be that Simon and his family became believers that day and became faithful members of the Christian community where they were well known to the writers of the gospels.

It is possible that Simon had some knowledge of Jesus. Perhaps, he had heard him teach in the countryside or in some village. Perhaps, he had never heard of Jesus before that day. But something turned his heart to Jesus on the day of his suffering and death. My sense is that Simon stayed for a bit after delivering the cross. Sometimes when we are part of a tragedy – praying for someone who is dying, assisting at the scene of an accident, helping a stranger pickup debris after a tornado – our souls are somehow knit to theirs. I think Simon experienced that connection with Jesus and lingered by the cross. Perhaps, he asked a few people questions about this man who had been brutalized and sentenced to death. Maybe Mary had briefly thanked him for helping her son.

I’m guessing the demeanor of Jesus, even in death, seemed out of place. Surely a man whipped, beaten, and on his way to be spiked to a cross was a murderer or a terrorist. But he heard no cursing from Jesus and no threats. What he heard was concern for his mother and forgiveness for those who were doing this to him. Jesus probably spoke a few words to him on the way to Golgatha and certainly made eye contact, which always communicates volumes in the midst of tragedy.

The culmination of the experience, I believe, connected Simon to the other disciples in Jerusalem and the resurrection of Christ followed by Pentecost made Simon and his family strong believers. I think this demonstrates a couple of truths that we need to remember.

First of all, God is always working in the hearts of men for redemption and that work often occurs in the midst of injustice and tragedy. God doesn’t cause the injustice or tragedy but he uses it. In the midst of the suffering and death of his Only Begotten, the Father was still mindful of Simon and was working on his heart that day.

Secondly, how we handle suffering and hardship influences people for good or for bad. The way Jesus suffered with grace and with love drew this man to him and to the Father. The same can be true for us. How we handle personal injustice communicates to those around us who are seemingly detached and on the sidelines. Injustice at the office, bad calls on the basketball court, slander, rejection, etc. are moments when people are watching and listening. Grace, forgiveness, and love can touch the observers. How we deal with sickness, death, injuries and so forth have the same effect. Our testimony shines brightest when things are against us.

Finally, connection with other believers is crucial in transformative moments. People are most open to the gospel in seasons of transition and crisis in their own lives. To witness and touch something as horrendous as Christ’s crucifixion – the brutality, the smell of death and suffering, the stark indifference of Roman soldiers, the darkness that shrouded the day, the wailing of those close to the crucified – had to be traumatic for Simon and his sons.

That day must have raised deep questions for him. Other believers had to answer those questions. I am convinced that God connected Simon to some of Jesus’s disciples that day – maybe even the women who stood at the foot of the cross or John who was there as well. Perhaps, in astonishment he lingered and encountered Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who came to take the body off the cross. But a few of the disciples reached out to him that day and their attitudes and actions did not cancel out what he had seen in Jesus.

Those relationships, forged in the midst of tragedy, drew him into the family of God where he and his children were well known even decades later. God uses everything for redemption. In the midst of crisis, injustice, or suffering don’t forget those who seem to be standing on the sidelines. They are still watching and what we do and say makes an impression that may draw them to Jesus just as Simon was drawn.

Most believers do not practice agreement between themselves and the work of the Holy Spirit. They can be soulish, led mostly by their feelings, and heavily influenced by rationale thinking. They do not live by the Spirit because they usually use logic to talk themselves out of the spiritual dimension. But God rarely employs a logical plan. Often, He tells us things that simply do not make rational sense. While it resonates with the inner man of our spirit, it offends the soulish nature of our own mind. Our brain then spends the next few minutes talking us out if the plan. (Graham Cooke, Manifesting Your Spirit, p.27; Brilliant Book House).

I have to agree with Mr. Cooke. I know what he says is true because I have often experienced it in my own heart and I suspect that you have as well. We want to think of our faith as rational because our culture and even the church values what is rationale, logical, and scientific. But think about it. How rational is sending a wanted criminal back to Egypt at the age of 80 to lead a nation out of bondage? How logical is it to command an army to march around a walled city for seven days without saying a word and them to simply blow trumpets to bring down a massive stone wall? How logical was it for a young shepherd with no training and no armor to charge an armored veteran who stood nine feet tall with a slingshot? How rational was it for Jesus to raise the dead, impart sight to the blind, walk on the Sea of Galilee, and submit to utter defeat to secure victory?

It’s not that we have no hard evidence for the reality of our faith and the historical Jesus, but kingdom principles are usually in opposition to the principles of the world. In the kingdom, the first shall be last, the servant of all will be the greatest, the meek shall inherit the earth, and we are to give more away than we are being sued for. God doesn’t operate by earthly principles or perspectives but our rational minds do when they have not been renewed.

Paul instructs us not to conform to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom.12:2). To have a “renewed” mind means that we have learned to think as the Holy Spirit thinks. We think first in kingdom terms rather than in the natural realm. We exercise spiritual logic rather than our unrenewed logic and we don’t let our natural man talk us out of our Spirit-led impulses.

Agreeing with God begins by acknowledging that his ways are higher and more authoritative than our own and that we are ultimately spiritual people who need to live fully by spiritual principles. The Holy Spirit should rule over our thought processes rather than our natural man ruling over the Spirit’s leading. Then we should get busy learning God’s perspectives on every crisis, every challenge, and everything we encounter. We should then make a decision to begin to say what God says about those things, regardless of how illogical or unscientific it may sound to those who are not led by the Spirit of God. We should then ask the Holy Spirit to give us a revelation of those truths at a heart level so that God’s truth frees us from the narrow range of possibilities we perceive with our natural mind. Remember, Jesus said that all things are possible with God.

Agreeing with God is what unlocks the heavenly realm for us. It will be a process. We will agree with God on some things but then discover our faith failed as our natural minds overcame the leading of the Spirit. When that happens, repent and move on with a greater determination to believe God for all things. As we move into 2016, I encourage you to make this your Year of Agreement! May you be richly blessed in this coming year!