Nabeel Qureshi 1983 – 2017
Jesus’ death on the cross is not the end of the Christian message. The gospel is that Jesus then rose from the dead. Whereas every other life ended in death, Jesus’ death ended in life, and his resurrection is the basis of all Christian confidence.
In Romans 5:7-9 Paul reminds us,
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
Today we remember the greatest example of love the world has ever known. This is the day we remember that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. True, Paul writes this at a time when many who would read it were alive at the time of Christ’s death. He could say “while we were still sinners” and look back on the crucifixion and the space of time before he believed in its value. We look at it somewhat differently.
Notre Dame altar cross, early Tuesday, April 16, 2019, by Philippe Wojazer, Reuters
From our standpoint Christ died before we were ever born. He died before we ever sinned. He also died long before we saw our need for a Savior. How wonderful that by the time we saw our need, the Savior was risen. The price for our sin had already been paid. All that was lacking was our making use of Christ’s payment and asking it to be applied to us.
The love he shows to us is every bit as great as if we had known Christ personally while he walked the earth. He was the lamb of God, taking away the sins of the world. We are the sinners, who have corrupted the world by our sin.
As children of the very wealthy are in danger of not appreciating the true cost or worth of their riches, we run the risk of not appreciating the price that Christ paid. We were born into a world whose sin was already dealt with at the cross. We have been forgiven based on a work done long ago, a completed suffering. We need to take some time to consider the cross. Grace can be freely extended to us only because our Lord Jesus Christ humbled himself to a death that we deserved.
Thank you, thank you Jesus.
Amen.
Heavenly Father,
Your Son reminded us that sometimes the best we can expect out of this world is trouble.
His disciples often faced difficulty, opposition and persecution and they endured. Give us that same kind of strength.
From Christ’s instruction we learn that our worst enemies and betrayers might be those we would expect to be our closest friends. Those who should love us and those we love may respond with hatred and rejection. We thank you that Jesus experienced all of this first. We are certainly no greater than he is.
Help us, Father, to remain steadfast, to be faithful and to endure. We may desire happiness, comfort, approval and blessings, but they may not be ours at this time. Just as Jesus endured to the end and was glorified, help us to stand firm knowing that his story did not end at the cross and neither will ours.
If we experience no glory or honor in this world, may our lives still bring glory to him, for Christ is worthy.
Amen.
Jesus sends out his twelve disciples, but reminds them that following in his steps is not something they should expect to be easy.
Matthew 10.pdf (Caid Fergusom)
Matthew 10.mp3 (Caid Ferguson)
Central Reflections 