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Dear
Saints:
As
we move into the month of April, with the change of months comes
also a change in the church year. Lent comes to an end and we
begin to look with greater anticipation toward Easter. The
relatively somber period of Lent has provided us with the opportunity
to develop a deeper appreciation for the events of Holy Week and
Easter Day. This has been particularly so for me since seeing
the Mel Gibson film The Passion of Christ.
Some,
apparently, have watched it and come away with a negative view of
Christianity. The question has been asked, "How could a
good God allow his only Son to suffer and die as Jesus
did?" Many, many more, including myself, have left the
theater with an altogether different impression: That God would love
us (me!) so much that he would be willing to undergo what he did in
order to restore us to fellowship with him once again. And what
is more amazing still is that, if he had to, he would most certainly
do it all over again! If you have not yet seen the film, I
encourage you to go before Easter. I promise, you will never
see Holy Week in the same way again!
Initially
it was difficult for me to verbalize what I experienced at the
theater that afternoon. It took Liz and me a good hour or more
before we could even broach the subject, but a couple of thoughts
began to emerge and stayed with us as we processed what we had seen.
First,
Holy Communion will have greater significance for us now. When
the bread and wine are distributed, and we hear the words, "The
body (blood) of Christ given (shed) for you" we will understand
experientially in a way we previously could not exactly what lies
behind these words.
Secondly,
for me at least, I became even more convinced that no one can
encounter Jesus of Nazareth without being radically affected.
Some will react negatively. Some will respond positively.
But everyone will be challenged to decide concerning him. There
is no sitting on the fence when it comes to Jesus. One must
choose to either follow or reject him. This was expressed
powerfully in the character of Simon of Cyrene whose relationship
with Jesus started out on a reluctant note when he was forced to help
him carry his cross to Golgotha. Yet, by the time they arrived
on that hill he had to be pried away from the One who had captured
his allegiance.
The
story is told of a lecture being given by Satan to a class of new
recruits. He questions them as to the most effective way of
leading people away from God. One young recruit pipes up,
"I think the best method is to convince people that there is no
God." Another suggests that a better method would be to
convince them there is no hell. Still another interjects,
"A wiser course might be to plant the idea that God is so
easy-going that there is no need in making an immediate
decision." Satan listens to their offerings, then says,
"These are all noble efforts, my young devils, that have been
tried in the past with some success. But our best method works
with those who go to church regularly as well as those who do
not. We call it "Moderation."
We convince people not to get too excited or fanatical about
God. This way they convince themselves they are believers
though in truth there is no fire in the soul. "Moderation
works just about every time."
Easter
is nearly upon us. By the time you read this article, Holy
Week may have already come and gone without a whole lot of thought on
your part. May I be so brash as to ask you a couple of
questions? Is there fire in your soul? Alternatively,
have you fallen victim to "Moderation?"
When
Jesus first appeared to his disciples, one of them—Thomas—was
absent. Because he did not see the risen Lord, he had his
doubts about what the others said about him. It wasn't until he
was invited by Jesus to touch the nail holes in his hands and place
his hand in Jesus side that he was overwhelmed with the realization
of what Jesus had accomplished on the cross and who he really was,
and Thomas cried out, "My Lord and my God!"
The
cross and the resurrection had assumed new force in Thomas'
life. Until that moment, he had tried to sit on the fence.
He had fallen victim to "Moderation." But now he had
come face–to–face
with the risen Christ—and
he would never be the same again. If Satan ever had Thomas in
his grasp, he had lost him this day. For now, there was fire in
his soul. Thomas was a new man! The old had passed away,
and everything had become new.
This
Easter season may we, by the grace of God, come face–to–face
with Jesus and have our souls set on fire for This Easter season may
we, by the grace of God, come face–to–face
with Jesus and have our souls set on fire for him!
Grace
and peace,
Pastor
Larry |
