This Holy Week, as headlines around the country continue to focus on several appalling events surrounding politics, controversial church leaders, government institutional leaders and shocking societal conduct, the tendency of feeling heartsick and hopeless grows the more
For our leaders, the drama never ends, once they stay silent about a certain matter, they are condemned and when they give their opinion, they are criticized. Around the world, millions of people are offering their thoughts and prayers to the people of Turkey and Belgium, and governments are pledging to double-down on their efforts to end terrorism.
As Christians who are meant to influence the world, inspired by Jesus’ mode of leadership, we are all looking to him for strength. Easter is here, there is a lot we have to lay down and take up the yolk of Christ for it is lighter and easier to carry.
Easter is an annual reminder that evil will never have the last word in our world, and this year I need that reminder more than ever. Brokenhearted over a broken world, my heart screams, “Maranatha!” Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”
When at our lowest, the idea of resurrection should become a way of life, a hard-fought determination that God can bring beauty from ashes. With Easter right around the corner, here are a few things to keep in mind:
The Resurrection Reminds Us God Can Identify With Our Suffering
Philip Yancey wrote, “One detail in the Easter stories has always intrigued me: Why did Jesus keep the scars from His crucifixion? …From the perspective of heaven, they represent the most horrible event that has ever happened in the history of the universe. Even that event, though, Easter has turned into a memory.” Easter is a poignant reminder that the darkest of nights and the most painful of situations are not beyond God’s power to redeem.
This Holy Week, our world remains as broken as it ever was. And with Easter right around the corner, I hope we will not choose to discount this brokenness with rosy sentiments about how Jesus makes everything better. We should not belittle the very real pain and heartbreak in our world. These tragedies deserve to be mourned. But I hope they will push us toward the God who identifies with our suffering and not away from Him. The resurrection does guarantee that He will be there for us in the midst of our suffering.
The Resurrection Gives Us Hope
In our human experience, we will face heartbreaking grief and devastating loss. And yet the resurrection reminds us that we can still have hope, even if we lose everything else. This is not a naïve hope that ignores reality or minimizes suffering. This is a precious and profound hope, one that looks for Jesus through tearstained eyes and clings to Him amidst circumstances that will never fully make sense in this lifetime.
This is a faith that looks to the future, resting in the assurance that God will one day wipe every tear from our eyes, leaving us cognizant only of His goodness. The resurrection reminds us that God will one day make all things new.
Whether we’re in a season of joy or a season of loss, the resurrection reminds us that God is present with us through it all. Even as tragedies strike and our hearts feel heavier than usual, we can take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus will make all things new. Jesus’ last recorded words ring as true for us today as they did for the disciples 2,000 years ago: “Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
The Resurrection Reminds Us That This Is Not the End of the Story
The disciples’ futures looked as dark as the night. We’ve read the end of the story, and we know how things turn out.
We know that Sunday came, enabling us to call that fateful Friday “good.” We know that Jesus rose again, but the disciples didn’t know that at the time.
When the disciples went to the tomb on Sunday, they weren’t expecting to find a risen Lord. Death was to them what it is to us: the unconquerable enemy. Throughout all of human history, death had marked the end.
Death was the one thing that could not be bargained with, even by the world’s most powerful and wealthy leaders. Death was the final reckoning. No one was immune to its power, and no one was strong enough to overcome its grip. The resurrection proved, once and for all, that the end of the story is never really the end of the story when Jesus is involved.
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By Samuel B. With Contributions from Rebekah Bell – Photo (by Nangalama) – Ugandan police fire tear gas in Kampala on February 15, 2016 to disperse opposition supporters.
