Happy Easter
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Photo by Freddy Castro
I so want everyone to know how good and personal Jesus is. In the interest of being real and transparent, I’ve been struggling a bit with balancing my time to write, maintaining my family responsibilities, coaching schedule, etc. The daily stuff of life that we all struggle with, and I’ve allowed my personal quiet time with Jesus to become less personal and more of a box to check off my to do list. As a result I haven’t had much success with a blog post. I got up today, got a nice hot cup of coffee, my journal, bible, devotional book and determined I would BE with Jesus. And of course, as always, he was there waiting for me.
I’m reminded what a gift it is to be invited by the King of kings, God of the universe, who is over absolutely everything. This God, the one true God, desires to be with me? That is crazy, but it is true. I’m reminded again of the fact that all of creation, all of the beauty, was created for us. He sat back and imagined each one of us into existence in his heart and then went crazy making a world of wonder for us to be placed in. Think about the beauty of life and our world. The vastness of the universe is staggering. (Check out “The Awe Factor with Francis Chan on YouTube) We as people are less than a speck of dust as far as size and YET we are the center of it all, the reason for everything, the reason for Easter.
John 13:1 says, “He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love.” Jesus began preparing the disciples for his arrest, torture, and crucifixion by sharing the Passover meal, and taking on the task of the lowliest servant by washing the feet of each one, including Judas the one who would betray him. Fast forward to Gethsemane where He went to be with God and to completely pour out his fears and emotions in exchange for strength to fulfill the reason He came to our world. Yes, Jesus needed to be with His Father to prepare for the most horrific encounter of all time, however even there his concern was for his disciples.
“He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. ‘Why are you sleeping?’ he asked them. ‘Get up and pray, so that you will not give into temptation.’”
Photo by Tatiana
Photo by Robert Nyman
Jesus knew the persecution they would each face as his followers, and the fear that would be embedded in their hearts and minds as they witnessed the Son of God be tortured and killed. He knew ahead of time that he would be betrayed by each one of them in his hour of greatest need, and yet, his concern was for them and his prayers were for them. Jesus came to live as a man in our world. He was fully God and fully man which is way beyond my ability to comprehend, but nonetheless true. He had the power to call down legions of angels but refused to spare his life at the cost of ours and heaven without us.
John chapter 17:11 records Jesus praying for his disciples again, “Now I am departing the world; I am leaving them behind and coming to you. Holy Father, keep them and care for them--all those you have given me--so that they will be united just as we are.” And, not only does Jesus pray for the disciples, he prays for us as well in verses 20-24. “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony. My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father--that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me. Father I want these whom you’ve given me to be with me, so they can see my glory. You gave me the glory because you loved me even before the world began!”
Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger
Easter is about a perfect love that is beyond this fallen world, beyond our ability to fully comprehend. Jesus the Son of God took on all the sin of all mankind who has ever lived and who ever will live. When I think of just my own personal sin, mistakes, and failures, and how they have affected my life as well as the lives of others, I cannot take it all in. Jesus who was without sin became sin on the cross. Not only did he feel the actions of sin, he felt the consequences of sin. This may be a bit graphic and seem irreverent, and if so forgive me, but Jesus took on the sin of the rapist and the victim, he took on the sin of the abuser and the resulting consequences of the abused. Sin is sin and he came for all. Think about that. “Hurt people, hurt people”. Without Jesus and his taking it ALL to the cross, we would all remain victims who perpetuate the cycles of sin and abuse. Because of Jesus, we can leave it at the cross and walk into the healing he provides. We can live out Genesis 50:20 as Joseph modeled with his life.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Photo by Hudson Hintze
This Easter it is my prayer that we will all count the cost of Good Friday and be grateful. And then...CELEBRATE the resurrection of Jesus! Leave the sin and resulting shame and fear and self hatred in the tomb, and walk into the resurrection power and life that Jesus died to give you. Refuse to simply survive life one day a time, or get bogged down by the cares of the world. Receive the invitation of Jesus to be with him every day and experience the life of abundance he has for each one of us. Happy Easter!