‘Through Him to reconcile all things to Himself.’ Colossians 1:19 NASB
Our definition of ‘good’ is different from God’s. ‘For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.’ (Colossians 1:19–20 NASB)
Musician Carolyn Arends writes: ‘During a jubilant Easter service, our pastor said “The world offers promises full of emptiness. But Easter offers emptiness full of promise.” Empty cross, empty tomb, empty grave clothes… all full of promise. If I were writing the Easter story, I don’t think I’d choose emptiness as my symbolic gesture. But then, I also wouldn’t be talking about strength being made perfect in weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9), foolish things confounding the wise (see 1 Corinthians 1:27), the meek inheriting the earth (see Matthew 5:5), or the poor in spirit getting… the Kingdom of Heaven (see Matthew 5:3). And I certainly wouldn’t be talking about dying in order to live (see John 12:24)… I don’t understand the way God thinks. But on those days when I feel hollowed out and broken… it makes me glad to remember that for Easter people, even death is full of promise… I’m writing this… during a particularly long Good Friday season in my own life. My mom is battling cancer, and I’d be lying if I said I was able to… “count it all joy”… I pray for healing and hope desperately it will come here on earth… I vacillate wildly between… faith and doubt, openness, and bitterness. But… we do not suffer alone, because the God of the universe wore our skin and died our death and removed its sting forever… And even when I’m… sad, I look at my mom and remember: without Good Friday, there would be no Easter morning. So, I pray through the night, and I wait for the resurrection.’
SoulFood: Jer 31–32, Luke 24:13–18, Ps 32, Pro 9:10–16
Renungan Hari Ini [The Word for Today] is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©