Yes I am a few days late for Five minute Friday (
http://lisajobaker.com/ ). Working all day Friday makes for difficulty to get it done Friday, at least for me. So a few days late is better than not at all.
This weeks prompt was
JOY. I may be cheating a bit as when I read the prompt I remembered something I had written a while back and thought I'd cut and past along with adding to it.
Joy
Contemplate
the Cost
It is well and good to celebrate
Easter Sunday. After all, Christ has indeed risen!! Without the resurrection we
would have no Savior, He would have remained in the grave and our hope would be
in vain. Yet, perhaps we should not be so quick to progress to the glory
without taking time to grasp the reality of Christ’s journey to that glory. If
one rejoices in the resurrection, but fails to embrace the agony of the cross,
part of what is glorious is lost, and the true meaning of our need for a Savior
is ignored in celebration.
I have learned
one cannot comprehend true joy without the experience of heart wrenching sorrow
and pain. For without the sorrow and pain woven into the fabric of our lives-
by what measurement do we establish the quality of our joy? I can know the joy of holding my first born
in my arms, but only after the pain and struggle of the birth process and the
loss of another little one who was never to have drawn a breath. In the spring,
new growth erupts and we marvel at the beauty of it after the long, hard, bitter
days of winter. So, it is fitting to celebrate the resurrection of the Paschal
lamb; what was thought to be dead has not only come to life, but in the process
we too have been given the opportunity to taste a glorious eternity.
However, Christ was called to the cross to endure our
judgment. By no means was it a walk in the park. Ours should be His naked body
with its torn flesh. The spittle on His face, the curses ringing in His ears
and the spasms wracking His body is what we deserve in the eyes of a Holy and
righteous God. But, God so loved us that
He sent His beloved, precious and perfect Son to make us to be righteous in His
sight. If one truly grasps the meaning and intensity of such love, one cannot
but be amazed. That is why I ask:
Can there be any pain or degree of loneliness as great as
that which my Lord felt that day long ago when His Father turned His face away
and abandoned His perfect and precious Son to my sin? Jesus risked all He had to enter into
relationship with me; what do I risk when turning to Him? A bad habit?
A sinful nature? What degree of
loneliness am I called to endure for my Savior? And, am I willing?
Do we daily take up what God has called us to do willingly,
or do we go about life believing there is no struggle to be had in this life
for the cause of Christ? There are many ways to respond to such a question. We
can refuse to acknowledge God’s call on our lives and live as we choose, never
entering into a true relationship with our Creator. We can spout Bible verses,
and sing Halleluiahs in praise, claiming all is well and we never feel alone
and empty. Or, we can truly be Christ like and cry out in anguish when we feel
abandoned and alone; we can go before our Father and ask to be spared the trial
we are being asked to endure if at all possible. We can also humbly bow and
say, “Thy will be done.” In doing so, however, we may be called to endure a
haunting loneliness of soul. For many times what is in God’s will is not to be
understood by others. Even Jesus experienced this as He prayed in the garden of
Gethsemane, as He faced betrayal by the kiss of a friend, and as His disciples
fled in fear leaving Him alone to stand before Pilate and hear the chosen of
God cry out for His blood.
If we are truly listening to the voice of God, we should
certainly expect our own Gethsemane experiences in life. On the other hand, the
amazing reality to it all is that we can know that we never have to experience
the Father’s turning away from us and leaving us in total darkness, void of His
presence, for that is what Christ experienced for us. If the agony of the
journey from Gethsemane to Jerusalem and on to Golgotha was torture, just
imagine what it must have been like for the Son of God to experience the Father’s
absolute absence.
Yes, I will celebrate Easter and the risen Lamb! Yet I
remain humbly awed by such great love, me the imperfect made perfect through the
grave suffering and anguish of the One without a single spot of imperfection,
my what a price was paid for me. That is why I cannot forget the cross; for only
where the pain and sorrow are truly embraced openly can the fullness of real
joy take hold.
Like I said, I cheated. But what Joy there is in knowing I have eternal life.
As I type this, I have received a heartfelt e-mail from a true friend, prayer warrior, and kindred spirit. Unfortunately she lives thousands of miles away and does not wish to speak by phone, so we e-mail back and forth. It is what feeds my friend hunger when I am starving. I will press on in my friend quest. I am searching for a grandparents group in my area (I wanted to start one at my church and was told there wasn’t a need). I will continue to trust Him for the desires of my heart and the outcome in my situation. There is great joy in each day, even in the toughest moments.