We sometimes feel uncomfortable using the term “good” to describe
that Friday because of the heinous act that occurred that day—Christ’s
crucifixion. The torturous, undeserved death of an innocent…HOLY…man. It was a crime if you look at it from a human
perspective. But God reminds us that His ways are not our ways and that His thoughts
are not our thoughts. In fact, His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. (see
Isaiah 55:8&9) He further reminds us that there is no greater love that
exists than for a man to lay down his life for a friend. (see John 15:13) So
what we witnessed when Christ was on the cross was not a crime; it was actually
an act of love, the likes of which we cannot truly fathom. You see, Christ
WILLINGLY gave His life. (see John 10:18) He was not murdered; He allowed
Himself to be betrayed…seized…beaten…tortured. And He did this out of love for
us: sinful, unrighteous, unloving human beings. He died for the very ones who
were laughing and mocking while He was on the cross. He died for those who
found pleasure in His death. He died for those who today still have disdain
toward Him. He died for those who today find pleasure in His death.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still
powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a
righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8
SO NOW WHAT? All the Easter hype is over. What do we do with
Christ…the truth of Who He is…the truth of what He’s done…the truth of who we
are? If you have not accepted Christ as your Savior, you need to do that
because, in order to live in heaven once you die, you need to be a perfect,
sinless person. And, unfortunately, the Word of God tells us this:
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:23
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the
truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8
But the Word also goes on to say this:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ” 1 John 1:8&9
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved. For with the heart one believes
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on
Him will not be put to shame.’” Romans 10:9-11
Jesus, on the cross, paid the price for our sin: He died so
that we don’t have to pay for our sin with our lives. So we, when we believe in
our heart that He truly is the Savior and we confess our belief in Him, we accept
His death as replacement for ours. And this belief supernaturally becomes our
salvation. Christ’s death is accounted to us and we are seen, by God, as
righteous and “qualified” to spend eternity in heaven with Him. So if you haven’t
accepted Christ, I strongly encourage you to investigate the claims of the
Bible and ask God to show you the truth. I believe that if you do, you will
accept Christ as the living God.
If you have already accepted Christ as your Savior, I praise
God! Set your heart and mind on relentlessly living according to His will…to
act justly in this world, to cherish mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
It’s odd to celebrate the death of someone. But the death of
Christ (motivated by love) brought about our possibility of eternal life with God.
It’s an odd thing for someone to rise from the dead. But Christ’s resurrection
showed us His omnipotent power.
So now, what will you do?
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