I'm not a terribly early riser, but Mr. Simons is. Every morning the boys and I wake up one by one and trickle into the kitchen to find him there. Reading, praying, preparing for the day with his cup of coffee and his Bible.
This morning was no different. As each of the boys pulled up a stool to the island, he began to play a audio recording of Matthew 27...the crucifixion of Jesus.
The boys listened and drew pictures of the cross. It's hard to imagine how what we were listening to was good.
And yet, it was, and it IS.
He was forsaken that we would be forgiven. Jesus bore the burden of my sin to the cross that I would have an easy yoke of unhindered fellowship with God. He endured the pain of the Father's turned face so that WE might meet Him in the inner sanctuary.
It is oh so good.
Good Friday didn't purchase a giddy, fleeting happiness that all could see, but rather a long, deepening joy that holds when the promises of this world (and we ourselves) come up short.
Praise God for the three days in the tomb: Because in those three days, the disciples knew despair, confusion, and heartbreak. But when Sunday came, they undoubtedly recognized that Jesus accomplished what only he could. They could look on the first 7 days of creation...and that SUNDAY became the FIRST DAY, the first day of redemption fulfilled.
Friend, if you know despair, confusion, and heartbreak...remember that Sunday is yours. All that you can't do to resurrect your own failures and your own mess on Friday was accomplished only by the cross, only through the blood of Christ, resurrected and made alive on Sunday. I pray you take heart in that alone today, and celebrate what hope that is yours this Resurrection Sunday!
Because of grace,
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