Spring Days and Easter Surprises

It is true, many people in the United States (and elsewhere in some parts of the world) are still digging out of the snow. Winter weather is hanging on! Regardless, the celebration of Easter is apparent in the stores. Children, especially, look forward to it with giggles and happiness. Bunnies and chicks start multiplying! Many of us like to decorate our homes with bouquets and lawn signs that read, “Life is beautiful!” And there is nothing wrong with any of this; except, Easter often gets mixed up with Spring.   

A World Gone Crazy

Whereas Spring marks a certain number of days on the calendar ushering in gentle and beautiful weather with flowers and plants bursting forth, Easter typically is a three-day celebration each year of the events that concluded the life of Jesus Christ on earth and his entry into heaven. Fundamentally, it is all about forgiveness which is difficult to understand in any world.   

This month in America, we have witnessed the prejudice, ignorance, and hatred causing eight people in one incident and ten people in another incident to die needlessly for no apparent reason. After occurrences like these, we all are left with our own thoughts to deal with such hostility.

“According to an excerpt of the book Why Forgive? in Plough Quarterly, Steven McDonald was a young police officer in 1986 when he was shot by a teenager in New York’s Central Park, an incident that left him paralyzed. “I forgave [the shooter] because I believe the only thing worse than receiving a bullet in my spine would have been to nurture revenge in my heart,” McDonald wrote. While the younger man was serving his prison sentence, McDonald corresponded with him, hoping that one day the two could work together to demonstrate forgiveness and nonviolence. Unfortunately, the young man died in a motorcycle accident three days after his release; but McDonald still travels the country to deliver his message.” [as told in Reader’s Digest, www.rd.com]

How many of us could bring ourselves to have such compassion in a world gone crazy? The officer obviously reached deep down inside himself and found kindness and love to be his answer. Rather than continuing the hatred or blaming himself for the incident (which is quite common), forgiveness was the only way to heal.

It is not such a surprise that, most likely, this victim was following his faith. Surely, there were many prayers for wisdom involved first. And do not think this was just a casual or easy decision. It could not have been considering the physical recovery he must have had to go through for a long time.

Like all of us who know the God of Grace [undeserved favor], these tragedies help us to understand the unimaginable Easter sacrifice on a cross simply to forgive us of our own sins. We all received this same mercy and forgiveness when we asked Jesus to be our personal Savior and Redeemer.

Jesus showed immense love and kindness and willingly removed our guilt forever! If you have not asked Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior, you can do that today. Read the true story below and then just ask for mercy and forgiveness in your own words. God will hear you!     

The True Easter Story

As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women.

Two others, both criminals, had already been led out to be executed alongside Jesus, the only innocent One. When they came to a place called The Skull [Golgotha], they nailed him to a cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing."

Then he [one of the criminals] said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Then he [Joseph of Arimathea] took the body of Jesus down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of a rock. This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation for the Sabbath [Saturday].

But very early on [Easter] Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. So they went in, but they couldn't find the body of the Lord Jesus.

The women were terrified and bowed low before them [two men]. Then the men [angels] asked, “Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He has risen from the dead!"

And just as they [the disciples] were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

And he [Jesus] said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day."

Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.

The Easter story is an excerpt from the Holy Bible, Luke 23 and 24 (NLT) [emphasis added].

"But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too" (Mark 11:25 NLT).

 

 

What Happens When We Need Help?

Just a quick scan of the internet will tell us stories of the “Good Samaritan” are alive and well—we just must look for them a little harder. A mother searches for the good person that saved her daughter from drowning out of the kindness of his heart; a stranger pays someone’s fuel bill without asking anything in return; someone helps another avoid a suicide attempt, and a neighbor's cat is rescued. We all wipe away tears when we hear of these heartwarming stories.

However, caring for others may not come naturally. We tend to become preoccupied with our own wants and desires ignoring the needs of those around us. We can even justify to ourselves and friends and family that we each should take care of our own responsibilities and not be bothered by anyone who needs help. This is sometimes the mindset of those who don’t want to become involved even when someone is in danger or in an emergency.

Why Should We?

What happens, then, when we ourselves need help? And, of course, at some point in life (maybe right now), we will, indeed, be in a situation when that occurs. No one can go through life totally alone and expect to never need another to help us out. Recently an article mentioned that we, unfortunately, may only ever know no more than two of our neighbors at any one point in time. And that is just a friendly wave or a one-syllable “Hi.” Knowing the names of people living around us is an additional step. Inviting that neighbor for coffee or dinner is almost unheard of in our world.

What is the point of becoming that person who is willing to drop everything and become a good neighbor/Good Samaritan? Why should we in the first place? If we choose to have compassion for another person, we step out of ourselves and may, then, avoid our own pity party surrounding problems in our lives. Amazingly, we may even arrive at a solution during others’ dilemmas.

Of course, simply helping someone, when we could just walk away, will help us grow in unexpected ways as a human being. Selfishness is a childish trait that is not extremely attractive in an adult. We would never want to admit such a thing or be known as that kind of person. In fact, we may have lived with a person who exhibited this very same personality characteristic and it was difficult and frustrating for us to deal with such a lack of compassion. We are better than that, so consider these personal benefits showered on us when we demonstrate a generous nature.

Nine Blessings of a Good Samaritan:

·                     We naturally become givers in all things

·                     We will prosper and be refreshed in our souls

·                     We are protected against criticism

·                     Wisdom, faith, and knowledge grow

·                     Goodness will be heaped upon us

·                     Our reputations will be remembered

·                     We will have influence and honor

·                     We will “reap what we sow”  

·                     Our world is filled with joy and light, rather than darkness

We are given unique abilities by God and born into a certain time and place whereby, we have what we need to help those put in our path. As humans, we can recognize our own responsibilities and duty when it comes to being that neighbor whom everyone can count on to help. Someone who is always there. Being neighborly can catch on fast, so let’s be the first on our block!

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).