It all began on Friday, it was the beginning of the end or it could be called the end of the beginning.Three men, each on a cross, hung there for their crimes against society. The one in the middle, judging from his condition, was the most hated of the three. What crime could he have committed to deserve such treatment? He wanted a new kingdom, a spiritual kingdom based on love. Rooted in the love of God himself and demonstrated by this very criminal.
Interestingly, He was not executed, but gave His life freely because of the love He has for all of us. We do not celebrate His death on the cross because it did not end there. We do not celebrate an empty cross. He was removed from the cross and placed in a tomb, buried and sealed in the tomb that it might be ended. Guarded by soldiers to protect the body, not because they thought grave robbers would would steal His body, but because they thought his followers would steal it to claim He was raised from the dead as He predicted would happen on the third day. Yet, on the third day, His body WAS gone. All that was found was an empty tomb, just as He had said.
HE WAS ALIVE! He had conquered the grave and death, showing us He had the power to do what He promised! He conquered the grave on our part so that we can have life everlasting in His presence and in the presence of God the Father.THIS IS WHAT WE CELEBRATE!
As you know, that criminal was Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. But it doesn’t stop there. It requires a response on our part. That response is to surrender our lives to Him, every part; our families, our jobs, our recreation, our relationships, our finances our time, our thoughts, our emotions, our ALL.
I know that this is hard for some to understand, but God loves you and has a plan for your life. I’m not perfect. I still do the wrong thing a lot of the time. But God has chosen to forgive me based on my acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. If you were to die today, where would you spend eternity? Think about it. Let me know what you decide.
With much respect and love. Franco Paletta