Like many Christians, I've been dwelling on Jesus' death and resurrection, particularly during this Holy Week. On Good Friday, we commemorate Jesus' death, that He was faithful and obedient to the end. Though perfect and not wanting to suffer the consequences of our sin, He did just that.
"Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour." ~John 12:27
Then there's Easter where we celebrate His victory over not only death, but also the sin that He died for. And being the glorious King that He is, His resurrection life is for all who believe in Him--that His death truly has paid for our debt to the Father because of our failure to live the way God told us to.
But what about today...I think we call it Holy Saturday. For me, it's always been that in-between day where you don't celebrate anything. You're just waiting for Easter to come, so there's a sense of suspense and anticipation. And it should be, but I try to take myself back to the lives of the original disciples. It must've been a day of pure devastation, defeat, and disillusionment with thousands of questions. What just happened?
And even though Jesus had told them ahead of time that He would rise again, how could such words bring hope when the reality of death stared them in the face? The hours between "Friday's" death and "Sunday's" resurrection (don't really know which days) must've been agonizingly long.
As I consider it all, I wonder how often we live in the "day after" of defeat and disappointment,"the point of no return"? In my head, I know that I don't have to, but it takes faith to bring these things to the Cross where Jesus' death was not defeat at all, but the greatest act of love of all time. At the Cross, what appears to be defeat is opportunity for Christ to overcome the impossible and to bring what is dead to life.
So, as Christians, we don't have to stay in the places of sorrow and disappointments that life brings. Instead, we should have tremendous hope because we know what happens next in the story! We can actually bring these deaths and defeat that no one can rescue us from to the Cross, where our Lord, the Giver of Life is no more. For the Christian, every day is Easter! So, may we welcome His resurrection power and life into every area of our lives, so that the God that we celebrate at Easter will be glorified through us. And may His purposes be fulfilled as we offer all of us to all of Him.
The entire plan for the future has its key in the resurrection." ~Billy Graham
Alleluia, alleluia! The Lord is risen!
