He is risen!
I also wanted to take a timeout from politics to share with you a good column shared in my Church’s bulletin this morning. Hope you all have a great Easter!
As we celebrate Easter Sunday, let’s take a look at the first man to walk into the empty tomb. Peter must have come to the tomb with many different feelings swirling in his heart—ranging from unspeakable hope that Jesus was alive again to oppressive guilt at having denied him.
Seeing those linens neatly folded, Peter must have recalled his own actions that helped bring Jesus to such a horrible end. “First I bragged about my undying loyalty to him, and then I denied ever knowing him. If he really has been raised up, I have to face him. I’m such a coward and a traitor; will he take me back?” While Peter’s view was so negative, Jesus had a different approach. He looked inside Peter’s heart and saw the love as well as the weakness. He knew that Peter had denied him only out of fear.
Try to imagine the first conversation between Peter and the risen Lord. “Why do you put up with me, Lord? I failed you!” “Peter, that’s all in the past now. I know your heart, and I know your love. When the Spirit comes, you will be strengthened beyond what you can imagine. So be at peace. I want you to feed my sheep.”
Surely we all have more than a little bit of Peter in us! Like him, we too have made boastful statements about our lives or about our faith. And we too have been embarrassed when reality confronted these claims.
So let’s give up all of our negative views of ourselves. After all, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Instead, let’s listen to Jesus as he tells us that he knows how much we love him—and as he tells us how much he loves us. Let’s allow these words of encouragement to move us into the world to feed his sheep. May God bless you this Easter.
