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He Loves You That Much!
by Larry Armstrong He loves you that much! Larry L. Armstrong The spring of the year is, for Christians, the holiest of seasons. This isn't because of the tulips and daffodils. It isn't because a long, hard winter has ended. Spring, for Jesus Christ's disciples, is a season of repentance and the amending of your life. During the six weeks of Lent, you examine your heart and mind to see if your faith is lived out in your deeds. If your trust in Christ has been lacking, you repent; you turn around from the wrong direction you've moved in and turn back to the Lord. How? By telling him you're sorry and amending your behavior to be more in line with his revealed will and ways. March and April are also a time to receive Jesus anew as your triumphant Savior. Palm Sunday leads you into the memory of his victory over human ignorance and foolishness. As you recall those who received him enthusiastically on one end of the holy week but turned against him violently by the end of it, you recognize how easily you can pull away from him. You see the danger of receiving him well for a while, then rejecting him in the end. You ask for his Holy Spirit's help to return you to being his faithful disciple. During the holy week, you also celebrate Maundy Thursday, the day Jesus instituted the sacrament of the supper and also delivered a new commandment to his people, to you. The commandment is that you should love others as he loved us all. In other words, you're to set down your life for someone else. You're to sacrifice for another's benefit and blessing. By means of the evening supper together, you recall the fellowship that was born in the church and remains within it as you open yourself to serve other Christians and other humans. Good Friday arrives and summons you to pause in remembrance of the death which brought about your atonement. Your sins, and your sinfulness, blockaded your relationship with God. You could do nothing to change the wrong desires and activities you loved too eagerly. But Jesus ascended to the crossbar and succumbed to a horrible death in order to atone for your transgression. He returned you to union with God by his demise. Have you considered what an awesome gift he presented to you from the cross? At last, you reach Easter, and joy erupts from your lips in praise of your resurrected Savior, your risen Lord. Alleluia! Christ is risen, indeed! As he emerges from his cold grave, he brings with him your eternal life. Because he lives, you live. Your eternal life doesn't start the day you die or in some far-off day when your body will be raised from its grave. Your eternal life begins the moment you receive Jesus into your soul. He loves you that much! Copyright (c) 2010 by Larry L. Armstrong Larry L. Armstrong is author of Patience: Harvesting the Spirit's Fruit and other books and ebooks. He's pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Jeannette, PA as well as a speaker for FaithProbe seminars. Find out more at www.FaithProbe.com. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |