I hope everybody has had a great Resurrection Sunday. We spent a lot of time with some of our family (or that some time with a lot of family?) and generally had a good day.
I've been thinking about something since around Friday, and I invite you to share your thoughts. It started out in a conversation about "celebrating" Good Friday, and how we don't really celebrate it as much as we "observe" it. We celebrate Easter. We celebrate our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ rising up from the grave. But I got to thinking- why do we celebrate it?
Don't get me wrong- I am glad Jesus did what he did and that by accepting His free gift of salvation I will be in Heaven with Him forever when I die. But still...
Christ rose from the grave (hallelujah!).
But to rise from the grave, He first had to be put in the grave.
He had be put in the grave because He died on the cross.
He had to die on the cross because God needed a perfect sacrifice.
God needed a perfect sacrifice to atone for my sins.
Because I am sinful, I couldn't be the atonement (duh). Jesus is the only one that could do it.
So I guess what I'm saying is, I feel a little weird celebrating Christ's resurrection without paying attention to the fact that He wouldn't have had to die in the first place if it wasn't for us. I am happy that Christ rose from the dead. I celebrate His resurrection. I just want to be careful to remember, and be thankful for, and celebrate His love for us and obedience to the Father that put Him through this. I want to celebrate the fact that God is so good that he would know how greatly we deserve condemnation, but that His mercy and forgiveness are greater still. I want to celebrate "agape". I want to never forget that what I celebrate cost Jesus dearly.
Ok, I know — a little heavy today. Again, it's actually been a good day. I am happy, and I am celebrating. If you are a Christian, you should too. I just want to make sure I remember why I am able to celebrate.
NOW SMILE! CHRIST IS RISEN!
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8
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About Me
- Jim Bird
- Married since 1996 to my amazing wife, Shanna. Our lives got even better when we welcomed our only child, Abbey into our lives. Planning to follow God's call and move to Greenville, NC as soon as possible to work at Discovery Church (www.discoverychurchonline.com) to work in the "Next Steps" ministry.
Logos
Verse:
John 3:16; Jn 3:16; John 3
Keyword:
Salvation, Jesus, Gospel
With Operators:
AND, OR, NOT, “ ”
2 comments:
I had a couple of conversations about Good Friday myself since the hillsborough county took it off the calendars... but I won't get deep here... I'll leave that up to Fred, I am sure he's coming soon!
I miss celebrating it too. Our old church in Utah used to do a Good Friday evening service. We would all wear black or dark colors. We turn the lights down low and sing some songs that reflect on what he did. We light candles and then blow them out. We walk out after the pastor read the message. No one spoke so that we could reflect on the true meaning of the Easter celebration.
Then we come back for sunrise service on Easter morning, it means a little more. But the good news is He did arise and He is preparing a place for us in Heaven. So let's not celebrate one day, let's celebrate everyday telling people the reason for the joy in our life.
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