By Douglas V. Gibbs
Today we celebrate our Faith in Jesus Christ, and the fact that Jesus Has Risen. We live in a country where we can celebrate Easter because our country’s foundation was laid on the solid principles of Natural Rights given to us by our Creator, The Blessings of Liberty, and a Limited Government whose job is not to rule over us, but to secure those rights and keep our society operating in an orderly manner. Without God, without Liberty, and without limited authorities being recognized when it comes to our wonderful home here in America, we become just another tyranny that reduces the population to subjects and serfs, increases misery and suffering, and ultimately fails through a violent and bloody death.
Right now in this country, we are in the midst of a spiritual war. A segment of the American Population has declared that this is no longer a Christian Union of States. During the Obama presidency, Newsweek Magazine declared on its cover we are “no longer a Christian Nation.” We constantly read reports that barely more than half of Americans attend church services on Easter. At this point we seem to be unable to figure out which bathroom to use, or the definition of “woman.” Do we truly expect Americans to still reach out to the One and Only Living God?
As our culture has been wrestling with its identity, and many have abandoned Christianity, it seems like a large segment of our populace has been waging direct warfare against God. We have abandoned the virtuous society that Benjamin Franklin declared was necessary for freedom, and have sought to replace God with idolatry that includes the worship of government, worship of social justice, and the sacrifice of innocent blood through the barbaric practice of abortion. Thomas Jefferson’s words about God’s Justice reminds me that we can only be disobedient to Him for so long.
“Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever.” — Thomas Jefferson
Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and provides hope for humanity who suffers in the bondage of sin. Sometimes I feel like that message has been lost in today’s culture. Easter has largely become a secular holiday with the kids hunting eggs and chowing down on candy, and families finally going to church perhaps the first time since Christmas. While I appreciate the fact that the commercial and secular invasion of Easter at least has folks who would otherwise not care looking at considering the message of the death and resurrection of Christ, the message is being blurred into a mythical cauldren with the bunnies and colored eggs. It is of the utmost importance that we remember, and place at the forefront of our celebration, that the day is about recognizing the ultimate Gift given to us by our Creator. Easter is about the Gift of Salvation from an unholy eternity. Forgiveness for our sins. An opportunity to have a relationship with the Creator and be filled with his Holy Spirit. It is about the Father sending His Son to live among us, communicate with us, and die as one of us so that He could bare the entire world’s burden of sin throughout all of history by being horrifically crucified, and then rising again from the dead. He is the only religious figure in history to conquer death because He is the Creator of Life and Death. Jesus Christ is the only person to walk the Earth to have also been God in the flesh, the Creator, and to be capable of conquering death.
In these troubled times it is sometimes difficult to keep our eyes on the Lord. I get it. We are bombarded daily with attacks that are sinister, diabolical, and to be honest, downright Satanic. I joke that some of us are C&E Christians, we only go to a Worship Service to celebrate Easter and Christmas. Fine, at least you join us twice per year. But, should not we do more? He was willing to die a terrible death for us on a Cross on Calvary. Should we not at least talk to Him through prayer, study His Word, and join our fellow Christians in fellowship and worship at church? Should we not celebrate His Gift of Salvation to us, and then tell the whole world about it?
Bill Burr, a comedian, once joked that he couldn’t understand how it is that God is all powerful, He is everywhere all at once, but if we want to visit Him we have to go to church. It’s a funny joke, but it misses the point. Going to church is not for Him, it’s for us. We all have fallen short of the Glory of God. We need the fellowship, we need to Worship Him, we need to commune with Him, we need to be encouraged by Him, we need to be educated and brought to His Focus through worship, fellowship, and the teachings presented by Men of God.
Church is the opportunity to commune with Him, fellowship with other Christians, and study His Word (though we should be in our Bible every day, as well). Easter, however, is extra special. It is an opportunity to remember His sacrifice. Not that His Death, Burial, and Resurrection should not be on our mind constantly, in the first place. Easter, however, is the moment we really can come together and truly envelope ourselves in what our Faith in Jesus Christ is really all about.
I am told by opponents of Faith that I can keep my “religiosity”. They tell me that Christianity is not very inclusive. Certain people, I have been told, are not welcome to a church service. “Besides,” one person told me, “I can’t stand to be around so many self-righteous people.”
Christianity is the most inclusive thing there is in the universe. Jesus welcomes everyone to Him. If you call out to Him to come into your heart, to save you from your transgressions, that you repent of your sinful ways, and that you wish to take up the cross and follow Him, if you truly mean it, you will be welcomed into the Family of Christ. And if you suffer from certain behaviors, or ideological trappings, or sexual sin – or whatever it may be that haunts you – and you’ve heard that the kind of behavior or tendencies you participate in are rejected by Christians, remember that He takes you as you are. You don’t have to change or fix yourself to come to Christ. Once you are in His Arms the fixing and changing comes naturally. He convicts you, changes you, makes you a new creature and in turn through His Grace you turn away from those sins. He changes us into a new creature, and all of those silly things we think we are, the identities we try to blanket ourselves with, or whatever behaviors we participate in, become secondary to Him, and wash away thanks to the blood He shed for us. That doesn’t mean you become this perfect, sinless, person. We have a sinful nature. We battle with our fleshly desires on a constant basis. Those who act like “self-righteous Christians,” despite their claims to the contrary, are also a work in progress. God is working on all of us. Those who accept Christ are not righteous, they are forgiven, and if being smug and self-righteous is a battle a person is having in their lives, if their lives have been given to God, if they died unto themselves and were reborn through the Blood of Jesus Christ, God is working on them. God is always working, even when we think we don’t see Him, or when things seem to be at their worst.
Romans 3:23; “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” King James Version (KJV)
For God, Easter is a message to us. Easter is about what Jesus Christ did for us on The Cross, and that He Lives, He conquered death, and He went through the horrific process so that we may have salvation from sin, and an everlasting life.
Death is a cruel and harsh thing, and for Jesus the burdens of all of the world’s woes throughout history being placed upon Him was so daunting, so terrible, that He cried out, “My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me.” However, we must remember that while Jesus Christ was at a moment of darkness and being separated from the Father, it was not a moment of ultimate despair or the cry of a man who had lost all hope and felt utterly abandoned by God. It was a call of supreme deliberate faith and fulfillment of scripture.
He had been beaten, and bloodied, and His Body was hung on a Roman cross on Calvary. Jesus had even been betrayed by one of His own disciples (Judas), and Peter had denied Him three times. Then, while his fleshly body was at its limit in bearing the pain, to add to the pain of the crucifixion, and to hasten His death, a Roman soldier thrust his spear into Jesus Christ’s side, and out of it came blood and water.
“My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me” was a direct quotation of the first line of Psalm 22. By using those words, it was an intentional instruction for us to recognize the rest of the text. The psalm of David moves from a feeling of abandonment to a powerful declaration of praise for God. It is a cry of identification, placing Christ’s suffering within the prophetic tradition of the suffering servant, the innocent one mocked and tormented, declaring that even at that moment of apparent defeat, God’s plan was unfolding perfectly. The message was that the suffering was a vehicle for the salvation of every human being. Christ, as he cried out, was pointing to scriptures and affirming that his suffering was not a random tragedy but the pivotal moment of God’s redemptive story for the world.
Yes, Christ endured the true torment of three days – separation from the Father. Darkness. Despair. Death.
But then, death was conquered.
An angel came to the disciples. “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.” (Mark 16:6 NKJV).
They thought He was dead, yet this angel had proclaimed He Lived.
Jesus Christ faced death, and conquered death, so that we as believers do not have to be afraid of death. Our bodies may be wearing out in life, and we may be nervous that death is on the horizon, but the Bible says we will have new bodies one day. “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:23 KJV).
Our bodies are not who we truly are. They are simply rotting shells. We are a soul – a spirit. Our bodies will eventually give up and die, but our souls will live on.
He is the resurrection and the life, and if we believe in Him, though our physical bodies will eventually meet death on Earth, we will live with Him in eternity.
Happy Easter, and God Bless.
