Seeing a bigger picture

What do you see in the picture below?

An exploding Panda? Melting snow? We need to make sense of what we see and read especially if we don't seem to have the complete picture. Reading the Old Testament can very much be like that. A series of odd stories, poems and quirky history of an ancient people. But what does it all mean?

Jesus does an amazing thing to his followers after the resurrection: he opens their minds to see that the scriptures are all about Christ and the redeeming dance with humanity ;-)

Utterly Astounded!

How would you begin to describe your reaction if you discovered a close friend who had died is now alive? The bible uses a strong word for Mary's reaction when she found Jesus' empty tomb: 'utterly astonished, greatly amazed, deeply troubled'. These first visitors were not expecting that Jesus would really be alive, despite what he promised.

The eleven disciples were equally perplexed by this news with some believing while others doubted. But can it be any other way? Is it any less disturbing to discover that Jesus is risen from the dead today? The story sounds so impossible and astounding that if it is true then our world will be rocked. As the truth of the resurrection dawns on us, we realise that our life cannot continue unchanged.

Let the amazing, astounding, astonishing resurrection of Jesus trouble your world deeply and rejoice that life will never be the same again!

A True King

Palm Sunday celebrates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as a king. People from all over the nation were beginning to think that this prophet from Nazareth might be the one, the Messiah. What they clearly understood this to mean was Jesus was a political liberator like David and that the Jewish people were about to overthrow the Roman oppressors.

The crowd was right about Jesus being the king and Messiah but wrong about the way his kingdom was to arrive. If Jesus had given a call to arms and unleashed the host of heaven, his kingdom would be no different to the one he replaced. Instead, he rode in on a young borrowed donkey as a sign of humility and peace. As his last week unfolds, Jesus is crowned with thorns, is mockingly dressed in royal robes and finally enthroned on a cross.

The King of Kings shows us how we are to live and proclaim his kingdom in this world - in humility and service of our enemies. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Throwing your life away

The most precious thing a person possesses is their life. Health, wealth and and all other blessings are dependent on this underlying state.

Yet Jesus over and over calls people to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel. He is asking us to give God our most precious thing we own. Jesus never asks us to do what he is not willing to do himself so we have the greatest example of what happens when we heed this invitation.

The trial and cross that Jesus faced looked like the biggest waste of a promising life possible. All the miracles, teaching and leadership seemed to be handed over without a struggle.
This handing over of his life however brought the greatest blessing to the world in history. Jesus invites us to follow him in trusting our Father with our lives. Are you throwing your life away too?