Not just another holiday

Okay, in the last post I deliberately kept things short and sweet, but I'll probably be back to my old ways this time around.  I have some more thoughts about the significance of this Easter season that have recently struck me, and this time - as usual - I'll use my own words to express them.

I thought this morning about those people who will be working today, not those who basically had to, but those who really didn't need to but did so anyway.  I wondered if any of them will take even a moment to wonder about the significance of this day, Good Friday.  Is it to them some vague holiday like Victoria Day in Canada where no more than a handful of people actually know why it's a holiday?  Will they even think about why some spiritual guy named Jesus died on a cross so long ago?

If they're anything like I used to be, I doubt it.  They're probably thinking about this as nothing more than a great chance to make some holiday overtime pay.  But I so wish that they - and any non-believer just enjoying a 'holiday' - could realize that this Jesus guy they've heard about had each and every one of them individually in mind when he held his tongue in the face of his accusers.  I wish they could understand that Jesus voluntarily gave himself as a sacrifice for our well-being, and that his crucifixion was not some unexpected and tragic end to a promising young spiritual movement.

Jesus was born to die, he was born to pay the penalty of our offenses (sins) against God so that those who accept this gift of Jesus would not have to pay that penalty themselves after their earthly, bodily death.  This has been God's plan since even before our ancestors Adam and Eve destroyed mankind's relationship with God long ago and introduced sin into our world.

Jesus as the one and only Son of the one and only God chose to give up his exalted position for a period of 33 years by living as one of us.  He chose to be born in poor, filthy conditions to everyday people instead of people of power and prestige.  He chose to live a humble existence in full dependence upon his Father who remained in Heaven, humbling himself to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).

But why would he die for us?  Who are we that he would die for us?  How could he known those of us who weren't even born at the time?  Suffice it to say that the Bible mentions how God knew each of us before the foundation of time, and that he numbered the hairs on each of our heads.  It also mentions in various parts of the New Testament Gospel letters how Jesus and God the Father are one in essence and nature, so therefore what God knows, Jesus knows.

Each and every one of us is so infinitely precious and important to him that sadly only a tiny portion of humanity - only those who've accepted the gift of salvation that Jesus offers, i.e. Christians - will ever have some idea of this before they meet God face-to-face in order to give an account of their lives to him on the appointed day.

God is independent of time.  He existed before it was even created, and thus time does not control him like it controls his creation.  Thus he, being all-knowing and in all control of everything, knew about the very second and the very circumstances of everything to do with when each and every one of us would be born.  He knew whether he was going to give us to rich or poor parents, loving or abusive parents, or to biological or foster or adoptive parents, and whether we would be born in a time of peace or a time of war.  And he did each of these things not because he was showing favoritism to some or being cruel to others, but for his own good purposes (not necessarily ours!) that we will only fully understand once we all - believer and non - meet him face-to-face - the great inevitability of human existence.

Some of you might have shaken your fist at God about your lot in life ever since you were old enough to do so.  You curse the day you were born and how a God of "love" could have been so cruel as to let you suffer so much - let alone be born - in the first place.

Yet I have heard more than a few stories of people - and met some - who suffered unspeakable horrors, sometimes for decades on end, but eventually realized the hand of God's protection and provision and comfort during those times.  They decided to no longer shake the fist, realizing that they would have been even worse off if he hadn't been with them during those times!

They realized those times were not so much for building character as for them to realize their desperate need of God in their lives.  So they opened their hearts to allow God to work in their lives, which inevitably lead them to a knowledge of what Jesus' life, death, and resurrection were really all about.  Then they learned about how accepting Jesus into their lives was going to set them free spiritually in this life and beyond even though they might remain in bondage in the here and now:  physical, financial, abusive, etc.

And these things are what God wants you to realize at this special time of year, this Easter season.  He wants you to realize that your life and circumstances are not a mistake, but that they are meant to show your weaknesses in order that you allow him to make you strong.  He wants you to realize that in your own strength you will eventually break or fail, if not on this side of eternity then on the Day of Judgment when you have to explain your life to this Creator of yours that you spent so much time and energy trying to avoid and/or deny down on Earth.

Will you finally accept that the whole plan of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in order for you to be set free was done with you in mind?  That this plan wasn't reserved for those who show up in church on most Sundays, or give to a church, or belong to a denomination or religion, or live good, moral lives?  That this plan wasn't reserved for those who seem as though they have it all together or all figured out?  This plan was intended for those who realize they need the forgiveness and healing that only God through Jesus Christ alone - and no other person or religious system or amount of money - can offer (read Luke 5:30-32).

This is not only the message of this Easter season, but it's been the message of the Gospel for over two-thousand years, the good news about Jesus Christ and what he has done for you already and what he will do for you if you would simply ask for his forgiveness and then let him into your life.