He is Risen.
My goodness am I glad for those words. Good Friday is heavy. It is burdened with the sacrifice of the perfect lamb. It is full of deep, hidden sins, being brought forth in order to be redeemed. There is almost nothing good about Good Friday… except that it is actually pretty Great. Jesus, you are amazing. Your sacrifice was unwarranted. You didn’t have to do it, BUT you did. I need that tattooed across my heart: BUT GOD DID.
Jesus put himself on that cross on Friday so that on Sunday we could wake up and celebrate life. Glorious, wonderful, life eternal. The only problem with this Sunday in this year, is that there is a beautiful life that is absent from our celebration. He is not absent from celebrating. In fact, he is probably celebrating even more fervently than we are… But George Mason is missing today from my arms. He is missing from our family celebration. There will be no adorable easter outfits and hurried pictures before candy gets all over them. There will be no sibling pictures for the year book. There will be no cries from the newborn who is finding his voice and growing more certain of his schedule and timeline. There will only be broken people, celebrating in the midst of this broken world, the most amazing sacrifice and HOPE.
Jesus died on that cross on Friday but didn’t rise until Sunday. God gave us a whole day of mourning. A whole day to wait and see what would come of that sacrifice. My son died and that was a terrible Friday. Then milestones got crossed off on the calendar and now I’m sitting in that Saturday. I’m waiting, with great anticipation, for the glory of Sunday. How appropriate to be celebrating Jesus’ rising and leaving that tomb empty when I’m in this season of waiting and wondering. Jesus, I know your sacrifice was undeserved but I am so thankful for it. Because YOU paid the ultimate price, I don’t have to. Because YOU died AND rose, I get to run like the wind out of my own grave. Because YOU were the perfect lamb, my son is in heaven and I know that I will be too, one day.
Today is a day to be fully celebrated. My faith and my heart rest in Jesus’ death and then resurrection. He is Risen. I want to celebrate. I want to shout from the rooftops that He is risen! Without that empty tomb, what would I have to celebrate? What hope would I have that I will see me son again one day? BUT GOD made sure we know there is hope. That He is our hope. That life eternal, worshipping at the feet of Jesus is a reality that we can long for with assurance of its truth. Today, I am celebrating with all my heart because that hope is wonderful.
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. - 1 Corinthians 15:55-58