03/11/2022
Easter is approaching and we will remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as we walk into this season, but we don’t do so by rending our clothing, and mourning His death alone; we also celebrate His rebirth, the resurrection! Remaining in grief and sorrow is to deny the will of God, and to negate Christ’s great obedience and love that was manifest in His death. The blood, and body of Jesus means little to us without the power that His resurrection brings. It is the difference between hope, and lost hope, eternal sorrow, and eternal joy. Do we choose then to remain on Calvary, or at the grave? I pray we don’t, because our Lord has risen, and He has claimed victory for us against all sin and death! Our faith is not based on mourning His death, but celebrating His life. How do we approach Calvary, and the death of those we love?
“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.”
Joshua 1:1-2 ESV
We are not meant to live half of the story that comes with death! We aren’t supposed to do this in the death of Moses, of Jesus, or our own loved ones. God gives us His promise of life, and this is the victory, and our celebration given to all who believe. Grieving endlessly is a selfish act that at best denies God our full understanding and attention, and at worst our faith in Him and His promise.
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
Easter is not about death; it is about life… the resurrection, not simply the crucifixion. How do we mourn our dead? Do we grieve without end, or to excess? If we do then we are hurting ourselves and all those around us. A father who mourns and grieves his wife without end can’t tend to his children, nor do the other things to support them in life. A mother who gives into excessive sorrow over a dead child can’t give what she should to her husband, and her family suffers from her neglect. It is the same in our faith… when we concentrate solely on the death at Calvary we deny Jesus the victory, and God our attention to His will.
I once knew a woman who could find sorrow in everything that occurred in her life. You might have heard the expression that “Every cloud has a silver lining”, well this woman believed that the opposite was true, and that there was immense sorrow and trouble in every cloud, and even a clear blue sky! If she had no sorrow of her own she would borrow some. If we deny Jesus his resurrection and ascension, we are like this woman who denied happiness in her life, and we do great harm to ourselves, and those around us who might have come to believe in Christ otherwise.
Mourning has a season, and then it should end. Calvary has its day, the tomb has its three, but with the resurrection comes an eternity of joyous celebration, and time of dancing.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4 ESV
So today, whether it be the death of Jesus on Calvary, or of a loved one, let’s do what God told Joshua, let’s rise and go over the Jordan. Let’s lay claim to the resurrection, and the promise of eternity that God has given us!
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the ability to love you have placed in us, and we thank you too for the mourning and grief we feel as a result of it, but let our love be never ending while our mourning and grief be experienced in their proper measure. Help us to grieve for a day as was done on Calvary, mourn for three as we witnessed when Jesus lay in the tomb, and to love eternally as you love us, as the resurrection demonstrates, and your Word promises. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who gives seasons to our lives, and pours your love over us without ceasing. Praised be your name for every love we experience in this world, and for the pain that accompanies them when we face heartache, disappointment, and death. Merciful are you who comforts us when we are heartbroken, eases the pain of our disappointment, and who removes from us the sackcloth and ashes of our mourning. By your grace we find a return to peace, joy, comfort, and in Jesus we realize these are eternal. Wash us Father in the cleansing blood of Christ, forgive us of every sin, and lift us from death as you place us before you for all eternity. Hear then our prayers, our praise, and our worship Father, for we have been redeemed, resurrected, and are living with now with you forevermore.
Rich Forbes