On the third day
Posted on April 12th, 2009 in On Christianity | No Comments »
On the first day He was betrayed, brought before the religious leaders of the day and stood before those that hated him, accused of committing crimes that He did not commit. He did not defend himself against His accusers and did not hold them in contempt. He knew what He had to do and what He had to endure to bring to completion His mission. For His resolve He was forsaken, lied about, teased, mocked, beaten, humiliated, spat on, cursed, laughed and murdered. On the first day He died.
On the second day, while in the tomb prepared for Him, He battled against the enemies of God, taking back those that had gone before He had come. On a mission, He didn’t waver and kept the commandment given Him by His father. On the second day He battled.
On the third He did something He promised He would do yet none gave Him the slightest chance of accomplishing – He conquered death, rose from the grave and took back the dominion man had given Satan over us. He took His place as the resurrected son of the most high God and began the last events in His ministry that would ever see Him in person. On the third day, He rose again, conquered death and brought victory to all those that would call Him savior.
As we enjoy the festivities on this day – the candy, the bunnies, the eggs, the color, the food, the family, the friendship and the fellowship – I pray that we remember that today is a celebration of life, rebirth, grace and victory. Christ died for all.
Yes, all, the whole of humanity. Saint and sinner alike. Actually, mostly for the sinner since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. He died for the murderer, the cheater, the adulterer, the fornicator, the liar, the thief, the blasphemer, the rapist. He died for the man that cannot control his eye or his mouth. He died for the woman that has sexual inclination for another woman. He died for the disobedient child and the rebellious parent. He died for mankind, so that through His shed blood we could be cleansed of our sin and once again be able to fellowship directly with God the father.
Through grace we have been saved by faith. Faith that Christ was born of a virgin as the only begotten son of the living God. Faith that He walked the Earth as a man. Faith that He was betrayed and crucified. And faith that He ultimately rose again on the third day.
There is no earning salvation. There are no prerequisites to it either. The person that you are right now, the success or the failure, the dirty or the clean, the broken or the complete… you are exactly who Christ died for. Because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
Even if you are not a Christian or are resistant to the message of love that embodies who Christ is, my prayer today is that you remember why we celebrate the day we celebrate today. May God bless you, whoever and wherever you are.