As I sit at my desk in my office at the church this morning and reflect and meditate on Passion Week, much is flowing through my heart and mind. Today marks the 9th anniversary of my dad’s passing and that got me meditating on the promise and hope of the gospel.
Because of the work of Christ and the hope of the Resurrection that comes on Easter Sunday Morning, we can take difficult moments and realize the goodness and triumph of Christ over death. For those who have placed faith in Christ, salvation is life and life immediately and life eternally. Death lost its sting for the believer because of Christ. The Apostle Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57: “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on the 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.“
As I meditate on those words from the Apostle Paul, much runs through my mind. For the past 29 years, I have celebrated Easter as a believer. In early part of my following of Christ, I didn’t realize the importance of every event that happened during Passion Week, but the older that I have become the more I realize the vital importance of each event. As someone who has been a part of the Baptist Church my whole believing life, Psalm Sunday has been a side note. But for the past decade plus, I have come to realize the beauty and importance of the Psalm Sunday. Not only that but the events of Jesus and the disciples throughout the week as Jesus moves closer to the cross and resurrection. So, often I believe that we as Christians look to quickly at scripture and do not stop and meditate on the details of the text. That was me in my early years as believer, but now after almost 30 years of walking with Jesus, I intentionally slow down as I read the scriptures daily. During Passion Week, I examine the events of Jesus and the disciples with the desire to seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to understand the depth of God’s Word as it describes the events of this week. It is that slowing down that continually transforms me, as I seek to be more like Christ and to love more like Christ.
In closing, today, I still miss my dad and every April 3rd, I am reminded of how quickly life can change. But I am also reminded of the promise and hope of the gospel. The grave lost its sing and power because of Christ. No matter how much life changes, the gospel is still working and changing lives. No matter how bad things become, we have the hope and knowledge of the resurrection.
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