Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

Thought:

Holy week is connected to Christmas.  We do not often think of that connection, but Jesus was clear.  There was a connection between why He came and what He came to do.    He came that we might live life in the fullness of God’s love and abundance, and be in union with God.

But then there was that Genesis 3 moment.  You know, the moment with the snake and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  The action in Genesis 3 caused a shift in the God-intended pattern of abundance.  Post-Genesis 3 humanity’s ability to live in the fullness of God’s desire for us was shattered.  Since then, all creation has been striving to return to Eden, to return to the pattern of original blessing.

Holy Week is a part of that return.  The sacrifice of the cross positions creation, positions you and me, to be forgiven, restored, redeemed and made whole.  On the other side of Good Friday, we now live in the light of God’s promise that heaven and earth will be transformed.

For now, we live in the between time, knowing the truth of the promise of Easter and awaiting its fulfillment.  Between now and then, our task is to live as Jesus taught, and to join Him in ushering in the Reign of God, one act a time.  May we find strength, this week especially, to do so.