It's all a matter of choice.

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His Love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Today is Black Friday. I could write a million words on how much Christ suffered for our sins and was crucified, but even with that I could not even come close to how much He suffered for us.
To even picture that a God in the Heavens- someone who created everything and deserves all the glory- was willing to sent His Son on Earth. I put the empathize on Earth because of what the Earth is. It's full of gossip and slander and hurt. God could have just said, "Jesus you could just stay in the Heavens with me." But no. God gave us..life by sending His Flawless Perfect Son to live on the Earth and be God's Light.
To even try to fathom what Jesus went through today almost 2,000 years ago is impossible. Have you ever been mocked? I have , and every time it brings me to tears because of how much it hurts. Jesus was mocked. Jesus was crucified. Jesus was spat on. They even released a criminal because of how much they wanted Him to be crucified. I can't imagine someone I love so much, on a wooden cross, crucified for me. For my sins. Wow, that's such an understatement of my sins. You see, we all have fallen short of the glory of God. We've all messed up and sinned, and because of that we deserved death. But instead the Son of God came down and died and rose again for us. Right here, right now. I want you to imagine the one you love so much hung on a wooden cross, mocked and spat at. It's tough to imagine. It's tough to bear the picture because it is just so emotionally draining. But yet Christ, the Son of GOD died for us. And He did it because of God's love...and a desire to get a relationship with us. You see, God could of just told us to be robots and non responsive, or slaves. And we totally would have deserved that. But instead, God wants a relationship with us. And that, my friends, is overpowering.
When Christ died on a wooden cross and rose again from the dead He broke that barrier that was keeping us from God. Are you having a barrier with Christ? Right now I want you to ask God to break that barrier..because being let go from chains and addictions and following Christ is the most amazing, most intimate thing ever.

And, before I leave, I want you to remember this- Black Friday isn't just a tidbit of information used on morning coffee newspapers to store in your heart. It's more like..a love story that you can't forget. A reason to follow God. An intimacy with God. When we take communion, it isn't just free bread and juice. It's Jesus' Body. And when we take it, it's remembering the ultimate sacrifice God made for us and the relationship with Him that we constantly seek, and its also taking time from the busyness of the world..and spending devotion with the one who gave it all.