In today’s English, glad is a weak sentiment and the brand name of a trash bag. In Webster’s Dictionary, glad means to be moderately happy. In the Bible, glad is translated from a word that means rejoicing. Paul tells the Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). In other words, be glad in Jesus.
Because of Jesus, I am glad for 5 things this Easter season:
I’m so glad God the Father is the kind of God that wants us to know Him. When I read the stories of Jesus talking to women, protecting them, honoring them, memorializing them, I see in Jesus Christ the God who loves me. I see Jesus touching the poor and the sick, giving dignity to the widow, and being adored by Mary and Martha. These stories in scripture make me wonder what it sounds like when Jesus laughs. I wonder what his smile looks like.
Because of Jesus, we know that God is love and he loves his children.
I’m so glad that God is a merciful God. Jesus sat with sinners, ate supper with them, invited them into friendship. Jesus took away shame, healed the curse of sin, showed love and kindness to the broken and discarded members of society. Jesus offered love and forgiveness where religion served guilt and condemnation. Where the efforts of man to please God failed, Jesus offered himself as a pleasing sacrifice to God.
Because of Jesus, the loving mercy of God spills out into the whole world.
I’m so glad that God gave Jesus friends. Immanuel, God with Us, didn’t have to walk this earth alone. As imperfect as they each were, Jesus had companions. They served with him, listened to his teaching, and stayed with him on the last day. Jesus cried when his friend Lazarus died. Mary, Martha’s sister, anointed him. John stood with his mother at the crucifixion and promised to care for her . Nicodemus took care to give him a proper burial. They shared feasts and festivals, brotherly love, and hard conversations. As God among us, Jesus didn’t live above us or away from humanity. He lived in communion with us, sharing life and death with those he cared about.
Because of Jesus, we have friendship with God.
I’m so glad that crucifixion wasn’t the tragic end of the story. The sacrifice complete on the cross, death defeated, Jesus walked out of the grave and spent time with his friends, preparing them for the new life of faith. Then he went to be once again with God, still alive in human flesh. I’ve always wondered why God gave Christ’s body power and life after death but kept the scars. Shouldn’t a resurrected body be like new? When Jesus went to God in his resurrected body, he took his humanity with him. He didn’t leave humanity behind and discard his experience or his love for us. He carried his humanity and our humanity with him to God in a body just like ours.
Because of Jesus, we know that we will be raised to life to be with him forever in the place that he has prepared for us.
I’m so glad my King Jesus is coming again. I will one day see Jesus face to face. I will see his smile, hear his voice, hug his neck. Because of Jesus, we will see our Father face to face and serve him and sit with him. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was only the beginning of our story with God. Those who believe in the name of Jesus will be resurrected in a new body to live in the presence of God the Father and God the Son in God the Holy Spirit.
Because of Jesus, we are given the gift of eternal life.
As we worship this Easter weekend, may the name of the Lord Jesus be in our hearts, on our minds, and on our tongues. Blessed be the name of the Lord on high!
“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Rev 22:3-5
Copyright @ TA Boland 2024
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