April 11, 2009

The Beauty of the Day in Between

As I sit on the couch this morning preparing for the day I can't help but think that this day has the potential to be one of the most beautiful of the weekend. Is it because it is a Saturday? Well yes, but no. Is it because I get to rest today? Well yes, but also no. This morning on this Saturday the beauty comes from the fact that it is the in between day. It is in between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.

The beauty of this day is that we can think about the beauty of the cross. Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." The beauty of the cross is that my sins were nailed to there with him. The beauty of the cross is that the sacrifice that my sin required was done there on Calvary. Last night as I sat in our Good Friday service a just thought about what the cross meant. That without the sacrifice of Jesus I would be lost in my sin. I had time to sit and think about the weight of the sin upon my Lords shoulders and the three hours of darkness. Today I get to just meditate on all of that.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

The beauty of this day is that I can think about the beauty of the Resurrection. Romans 6:3-4 says, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." The beauty of the resurrection is that as he conquered death, he conquered death for me. As Jesus rose from the dead, I rose to eternal life. With the resurrection I received eternal life in which I will reign with Him. Today I get to think about the beauty of eternal salvation. Today I get to think about the empty tomb and the significance that has to how God views me and my sin now. Today I get to see the beauty of His resurrection and what it means to all sinners everywhere.

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
 
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
  “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
 
 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:50-58)

As we all move forward to Resurrection Sunday may it not be about the Easter eggs. May it not be about the candy and Easter baskets. May it not be about bunny rabbits and all the nonsensical things that make us look like the world. May Easter be Resurrection Sunday! May it be a day which we thank God for what He did so that we may reign on high with His Son. May it be a day in which we talk to our children about what Jesus did for them. May we separate ourselves from the world and make this about our Savior. 

Have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!