I asked my son to come and help prepare the church for tonight’s gathering. We will honor and remember the ancient custom known as Stations of the Cross. As our fantastic Youth Director guided us through the preparation, my son mentioned to me that this was a lot of work for one night. I explained to him that our practices and customs are very important to us and that if just one person experienced the resurrected Christ in a new and profound way, then our work was not in vain.
I can take it a step further; even if no one’s heart was changed it was worth every ounce of energy that we all utilized to finish the beautiful reminder of God’s incredible gift of freedom from spiritual bondage given to us. It is overwhelming to think that God offered humanity the most incredible of all presents knowing full well there was a tremendous amount of risk involved in His offering. Jesus’ followers could have run away and left without giving their rabbi another thought. All could have been lost. The light of the world could have been diminished and snuffed out before it ever defeated the darkness.
I am very humbled by the thought that God carried out this incredible sacrifice to ensure my salvation. The Divine poured out amazing love that falls down on us from heaven in the gift of His very own Son. Every once and a while I think of the holy risk given to call my heart and fall down in worship because I am loved in a way that can never be fully put into words. We have been redeemed or called back into right relationship by God. Our souls are restored to a holy and loving heavenly presence. Not because we deserved it, but because God chose it for us. This night I only think, “Praise be to God, who has the victory over sin and death!” I thank God because if just one person experienced the resurrected Christ in a new and profound way, then the work (our gift of salvation) was worth every moment of heavenly labor.
From a Pastor's Point of View 