Saturday, March 28, 2015
The Best of Days
It
was the worst of days, it was the best of days... the day Jesus Christ died. Many scholars believe His death coincided
with the Jewish Passover. At Passover, among other traditions, a lamb
was slain to commemorate the night the Jews were delivered from Egyptian
bondage. The Bible refers to Christ as
"The lamb slain from before the foundation of the world." The day Christ died politicians thought they
were winning a victory and Satan thought he was destroying a movement, but God
was using them both to change the world forever.
The
day Jesus was crucified was "the worst of days" from a human
standpoint. A mob of people had been
whipped into a frenzy by the politicians and press of the day, and they were
cursing a man who done nothing but bless them.
They were mocking their King. His
closest friends were devastated and afraid.
Nobody at the crucifixion was saying, "Wow, what a watershed moment!
Isn't Jesus doing a spectacular job!"
On that fateful day a nation sealed its
own judgment and world leaders who had been enemies made an unholy alliance and
became friends, only to collaborate on the worst deed ever done by mankind. It
was a day of injustice, violence and lies.
But all of these reasons for sadness were in the temporal realm; most
people missed what was really taking place.
It
was the best of days for much more substantial reasons. Jesus was being beaten so we could be
healed. He was being mocked to fulfill
the Scriptures. God was manifest in flesh and was paying for our sins with His own
blood. He hung naked before unthinking critics so He could forgive them and the
world. The barbaric behavior of crazed crowds, self-righteous religious leaders
and flip-flopping politicians became a backdrop for what would become the most
famous story of all time. This was the
day when Jesus was most graphically demonstrating His love for mankind. He was conquering death, hell and the grave. He
was preparing to forgive your sins and to give you everlasting life, should you
accept His great gift.
I
am so glad Jesus had perspective while traveling through the valley of the
shadow of death. If He had not been able to see the bigger picture -- the
spiritual world which most people never see -- He may have stopped short of His mission. Jesus modeled the life of a successful
believer; He showed us how to change our world by letting love and faith
empower us to see the good things that are happening on the worst of days.
You
and I may experience days with similar extremes. Others may not recognize the
good. We may be in pain. But if God is
orchestrating our lives, we need not fear.
"God has a plan." and "It's in God's hands." are not
trite sayings. Jesus' life proves this
more vividly than most, because his coming, living and dying were all
predicted. The very people who wished to
destroy Jesus, simply played their role in fulfilling God's divine plan. The ultimate life is the life lived in
accordance with God's plan. True people
of faith are those who embrace both good days and bad days, because they are
confident in the One who is orchestrating it all. Every day God orchestrates is
the best of days.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
