Peter Marshall

Faithful

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“One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests” (Peter Marshall).

I read a book once called Not a Fan. The gist is that Jesus doesn’t call us to be fans but followers. Of course, in this age saturated with social media, being a follower has taken on a whole new meaning. You can follow a person or a company with no real investment. But what Jesus wants are those who will lay down their lives for the sake of the Gospel, the Kingdom, and the King.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that when Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die. Sometimes that looks like being martyred for the sake of the gospel. I think of believers living in daily fear of their lives in areas of the world that are hostile to the Christian faith. I think of people who will be disowned by their families and even threatened with death because they chose to follow Jesus.

Here in America, it’s not that bad. Yet. I have a feeling that the days of Christians having a soft and comfortable existence in the United States are coming to a close. One day, it might not just be inconvenient but illegal to be a Christian who exclusively claims Jesus as Lord. One day, preaching or speaking the gospel might not just be considered hate speech, but a punishable offense.

Tonight in my life group, we talked about what it means to suffer for Christ. Right now, it’s becoming less and less politically correct in this country to believe in Jesus and God as revealed in the Bible. In other places, confessing Jesus as Lord will almost certainly mean death. But throughout the Bible, we see where believers were able to endure suffering and even count it all joy because they knew something way better was waiting for them on the other side.

I’m thankful for my freedoms to practice my faith openly without fear. I pray that I will be more mindful of those who share my faith but don’t share the same freedoms. I pray that we in American churches will acknowledge and honor their courage and sacrifices for the sake of Jesus. I’m certain great rewards await them in heaven.

May we be found as faithful as them.

Easter Sunday 2015

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File Apr 05, 9 15 22 PM

“It is good for us to remember that this stone was rolled away from the entrance, not to permit Christ to come out but to enable the disciples to go in!” (Peter Marshall)

“A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act” (Mahatma Gandhi).

“God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you'” (Billy Graham).

“But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross” (Bono).

For me, Easter is a bit harder to prepare for than Christmas. You don’t have nearly the commercialism of the season constantly reminding you that the day is coming. Also, Easter isn’t on a fixed day every year like Christmas.

Most of all, Easter isn’t quite the feel-good story that Christmas is. You don’t have the cute little infant being cradled by loving Mary as a doting Joseph watches on. You have the gory spectacle of the cross and the death of an innocent Man to deal with.

But you need both, I think. You can’t have the Greatest Story Ever Told without both the virgin birth and the death and resurrection. If Jesus wasn’t born of a virgin Mary, then He’s not qualified to die for anyone’s sins but His own. If He isn’t raised from the dead, then we are still stuck in our sins and just as hopeless as before.

So I love both seasons. More than that, I love how Advent comes before Christmas and Lent comes before Easter, giving us time to prepare our hearts and minds for what it all means.

This year, Easter means that no life is wasted. It means that every life matters and every single person ever born matters to God. It means that your and my identity doesn’t come from honor rolls or bank accounts or resumes, but from Calvary. At the core, who I am is the Beloved of God, who proved that He thought I was worth dying for on that cross.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, there are only 263 days left until Christmas.

 

 

An Easter Reboot

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resurrection

“The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity and held safe in an everlasting embrace… We must dare to opt consciously for our chosenness and not allow our emotions, feelings, or passions to seduce us into self-rejection” (Henri Nouwen).

The stone was rolled away from the door, not to permit Christ to come out, but to enable the disciples to go in” (Peter Marshall).

Sometimes, it takes Easter to get my mind refocused. Like so many of you, I can get off track so very easily and forget who I am and what I’m here for. I need to be reminded that I am indeed the beloved, the chosen child of God. My purpose is to live that out as best I can, to become what God has already declared me to be.

I take Easter for granted because I already know how the story ends. Or at least I think I do.

In fact, Easter isn’t an end, but a beginning. C. S. Lewis in his book, The Last Battle, said that all of history was merely a title page and a preface. Eternity is the real beginning of the book, where each chapter is better than the last and the story is truly neverending.

Easter reminds me that my forgiveness might have been free for me, but not free. it might have not cost me anything, but it was not without cost. I don’t need to forget that my forgiveness cost God the very highest price and is the most extravagant gift ever given in history. I don’t need to take that lightly or for granted.

Easter also reminds me that failure isn’t final, that goodbyes aren’t forever, and that truth and faith and love and hope all survive the grave and come out stronger on the other side. I guess that’s why I love it so much.

 

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