Seeing Easter A Different Way!

Yesterday, I was leading worship for our Life Support group. It was yet another gloomy, gray, wet, depressing day. This week it dawned on me that it might have been a day like today that Christ died. If not, these days sure do remind me every year around this time, when the weather gets what seem exceptionally gray of what he went through for me. But this year I saw something completely different.

Jesus came down to earth perfect! He had his life in check, his emotions in check, his walk in check. He didn't hold on to baggage, didn't have mental issues, wasn't addicted to anything and yet, everyone's issues brought him to the cross! Not only our sins as we know them but the sins of those around him back then. Christ wouldn't have died that day if everyone had their lives together. From the time Jesus was born, there were problems with him because of the leaders around that country and their own personal insecurities. No one would have been after Jesus if they didn't think he was some kind of threat to their own leadership. Pilate could not only find fault with Jesus, but he really couldn't or won't make the decision of his fate alone. He really let the people make that decision.

Even way back then people struggled with issues! They held on to their past, hide from their shame, covered up their weakness's. If you go back and read this weeks sad events, you will see all the dysfunctions that lead him to the cross without Christ having any dysfunctions at all throughout his live here on earth. That was so powerful for me to read, because for the first time I saw just how much destruction goes on when we don't allow God to lead our lives and take away our issues. I saw just how destructive we can be not just to ourselves but to the people around us. I saw just how sad of a live some of those people that made the way for Christ to hang on that cross just were. And, until they themselves died they lived a very unhappy live knowing what they did.

I guess if you could ever say that somebody's sins or dysfunctions paid off for you it would be right now. If it wasn't for those people back there with Jesus and all the sins they had in their lives they wouldn't have walked Jesus through the streets to that cross. In the end we're all the same, there's nothing new under the sun. Sin then is the same sin now but we can have hope, joy and strength in Christ as he leads us past our past and into our new future with him. April 20th,2011 Leah Martensen