Lost in Wonder

Have you been to those places where the sheer beauty of something causes you to pause and say "thanks"?

Have you had those moments when you were surprised by the wonder of life and the grace of God?

Jesus takes my breath away.

Easter Joy

"The disciples were so glad and amazed that they could not believe it."

None of the disciples expected Jesus to rise from the dead. Their first reaction was fearful incredulity. (Luke 24:41, CEV).

"Easter joy" is something we can carry with us -- not because life is easy -- but because Jesus is alive, because He is the Lord, and because what He tells us is true!

In a world suffused with grief and pain, we need to remember that "the joy of the Lord is our strength" (Neh. 8:10). Karl Barth once said, "Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God." Don't you think that's why C. S. Lewis entitled his autobiography, "Surprised By Joy"?

We can live joyfully in the afterglow of Christ's resurrection!

(My young friend, Mac, and I waded in the Atlantic Ocean last summer. It was pure joy!)

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

This week laryngitis has forced me to stay inside and keep silent (for the most part). The up side to this is that I've had a lot of time to ponder the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection.

As to why Christ had to die, consider what Jayber Crow, one of Wendell Berry's best-drawn characters had to say:

Christ did not descend from the cross except into the grave. And why not otherwise? Wouldn't it have put fine comical expressions on the faces of the scribes and the chief priests and the soldiers if at that moment He had come down in power and glory? Why didn't He do it? Why hasn't he done it any one of a thousand good times between then and now?

I knew the answer. I knew it a long time before I could admit it, for all the suffering of the world is in it. He didn't, He hasn't, because from the moment He did, He would be the absolute tyrant of the world and we would be His slaves. Even those who hated Him and hated one another and hated their own souls would have to believe in Him then. From that moment the possibility that we might be bound to Him and He to us and us to one another by love forever would be ended.

That makes sense, don't you think? Jesus did not come down from the cross because He is not interested in overpowering us. Instead, He wants us to willingly give ourselves to Him. Therefore, the Lord of heaven and earth chooses to save us and to woo us . . . in love.