Easter

If you haven't watched the video - please do so before reading this entry.  It puts it into words much better than I will.

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Today is the day - this is the one that our faith hinges on.  We spend more time on other holidays; Christmas, Thanksgiving, the 4th of July, even Halloween, but this is the day that truly matters.  Without today we would have no Christmas - the others don't even register on the radar when it comes down to importance, but they get a larger slice of our attention.  Maybe its because this is a holiday that is difficult to commercialize (I mean, how far can you really push the bunny thing?).  Maybe its because of the brutality that leads up to this day.  Maybe there is a certain level of guilt because we know that our sins are why this had to happen; we get a historical picture of the wages of our sins.

I don't have an answer for why we give so little attention to Easter.  I just know that I need to change that in my heart.  Today is the day.  Today is the day that my soul was bought.  Today is the day that freedom came to this world.

For the Maker is your husband -

  the Lord Almighty is his name -

              the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;

        he is called the God of all the earth.

Isaiah 54:5

 

We are his bride. 

Think about that image for a second.  If you are married, think about your wedding day; think about the anticipation you felt, think about the awe that you experienced.  Is that how you think of Jesus?

He is our bridegroom.  He loves us more dearly than we can imagine.  He placed himself in front of our deaths.  He washed us clean and purified us with a love that we cannot understand.  He loves us with a passion and power beyond description, and far too often, we return love at our convenience - if at all.

We are thankful for his sacrifice.  We are grateful that he died in our place.  We are glad it was him and not us who went through that horrific experience.  But, if we are honest with ourselves (again, much harder than it should be), very few of us love him with the passion of a bride.

Recently, I have had these moments where I am hit by the power of His love.  A song will come on or I will have a thought, and I will be suddenly overwhelmed; my heart catches and tears fill my eyes because I see that He loves me more deeply than I understand to be possible.  These moments are beautiful - they are what I hope eternity will be.  To be in the presence of Love, forever adoring the One who loves us more purely and deeply than we can fathom ...

My prayer is that I move into love.  My heart longs to be in a place where I am in a state of anticipation to be united with the one who loves me perfectly.

Today is the day - the day when our bridegroom was crowned the King.

Holy Holy,
Holy Holy,
Holy Holy,
Is the Lord Almighty