You must sink deep in order to rise.
That is essentially the Easter message, which so often is lost in the usual cacophony of celebration.
It has its base in the message of the cross: that Jesus walked the earth, ministered to the earth, ruffled many feathers, was condemned to die on the cross and resurrected on the third day.
It is a message we have heard so many times that we are sort of immune to it. So, like every season, the Easter season comes and goes.
We celebrate Palm Sunday in style, attend church services to commemorate the painful torture and crucifixion and attend more services to celebrate resurrection Sunday.
Tomorrow, we will walk around with a triumphant spirit that Christ has risen!
We will fold up our arms satisfied that we have executed our spiritual duty and resume the normal life either in traffic jams or in less noisy areas.
But if only we would understand the profound message behind the cross! Our world would be different. We would be like that city whose jails were all closed because there was no one to jail. And the message is as simple as this:
• God desired that man and woman live in a serene environment that was the Garden of Eden, completely free from the hustles of this world.
• But man’s desires overtook him in the form of the woman being deceived by the serpent.
The once blissful relationship between God and man is severed and man is condemned to toiling for a living.
• God then desired to carve a special people for Himself who would worship Him uninhibited but man proves to be too rebellious, hopelessly steeped in sin.
So serious is the situation that man compromises God’s plan to take him to the Promised Land by stubbornly following the ways of pagans.
• God then declares that man’s heart is desperately wicked. Paul himself says he knows the right thing to do but always ends up choosing to do evil. And he calls himself a wretched man.
• Thus begun a manifestation of God’s grand plan to save mankind. It had been prophesied by many before but the plan is set in motion when the little baby makes his way into the world.
• It is ordained that the little baby will bring redemption not only to the Israelites but to anyone who would believe in Him. He must die on the cross. He must also resurrect on the third day.
Jesus’ death is symbolic of the death of sin and His resurrection gives rise to our hopes, our dreams, and our aspirations in the spiritual realm. When he resurrects, he moves us closer to God Almighty. He becomes that worthy bridge we must all cross if we are to say on the Day of Judgment: It is well with my soul.
How deep are you in sin and despair? Only acknowledge His redemptive work at the cross and you will stand tall among kings.
Happy Easter.
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