Rejoice! Rejoice! When Christ rose
from the grave he conquered death and gave us the gift of salvation and
justification before God. Death is no longer the end. Death is no longer the
final sentence because Christ holds the keys to death (Revelation 1:18). In the
Old Testament there are many references to Sheol, the place of the dead. This
wasn’t hell (it was closer to the Greek concept of Hades), but a place of a
shadowy existence where only the soul survived. Nothing happened in Sheol, it
was a place of waiting and doing nothing: no thoughts; no actions; nothing. Therefore,
when Christ says in Revelation 1:18, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and
ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” He is saying that death is
no longer the end, and that there is a marvelous life that awaits us in which
we are renewed spiritually and physically to serve our God and King!
I know that often times in my posts
I try to drive home what Godly living looks like, and how we fall short of it
as revealed by Scripture. There are times when our sin can be overwhelming,
when we look at how far short we really do fall and become discouraged. Today
is not about the sin that was crucified with Christ on Good Friday, but about the
amazing grace that covers us with Christ’s resurrection.
My husband and I attended our
church’s Good Friday service, and one of the things we did was to write out
sins and the things we had made more important than serving and obeying God on
a paper and nail them to a wooden cross. Then, sometime on Saturday, the
pastoral staff took all the papers and burned them. The ashes of the paper
wouldn’t have even filled a ¼ Cup measuring cup. The point? Our sin is terrible
and separates us from our Creator, but ultimately it is so small when compared
to God’s amazing grace, glory, and love for us.
Easter is God’s declaration that His
power surpasses everything we have ever known, and that He is able to redeem us
from all our sins and failings. Hallelujah! Praise God for His power and love
for us. This is a day to truly give thanks for Christ’s sacrifice to redeem all
creation. Let us rejoice and be glad and ever remember and sing:
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!
Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!
Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!
Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
(Here’s some additional verses that most churches
don’t usually sing)
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
I love this hymn! We sang (I played violin) it at St Georges yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of writing out sins, nailing to cross, and then burning the pieces of paper. But mostly because you are right, the ashes, when compared to HIs glorious resurrection and His gift of redemption are small. His love is SOOO great!