When we were visiting Florida one beautiful spring day, we experienced the blessing of seeing a skywriter perform. Here's what the pilot blazed across the sky:
Some of the lettering had faded by the time I snapped this picture, but perhaps you can still see that the message is "Love God."
We didn't get to see the finished words here, but we knew what they would be. The skywriter was spelling out "Jesus loves you."
On this Good Friday, I'm pondering these two messages, blazoned on the sky by courageous pilots. Two messages about the Lord we worship.
I was watching TV footage of a street demonstration of some kind. One of the participants held a poster stating, "Jesus loves you but God is holy." I have no idea what the demonstration was about; it could have been any number of hot-button issues, I suppose.
That sign broke my heart.
It contained two important facts, of course. Jesus does love you--no matter who the "you" is. And God is holy. But why would those statements be linked with the word "but"? As if they are in contradiction to each other? As if God and Jesus were in disagreement about something!
Today, Good Friday, we commemorate the greatest act of sacrifice ever made—the crucifixion of Jesus. After taking on a human body, after living a life free from any kind of sin or guile, after teaching and loving people and reaching out to those most despised by society and healing the sick and restoring sight to the blind, Jesus allowed himself to be put to be tortured and put to death. Jesus died so we could live. Yes, Jesus loves us.
And that radical plan for the salvation of humankind—the son of God living on earth as a human, teaching people how to live, allowing Himself to be killed—that plan wasn't just the work of Jesus. That was the work of all three members of the Trinity. God is ONE God in three persons, and Father, Son, and Spirit love us. There can never be a disagreement within the Trinity.
Yes, for sure, God is holy; Father, Son, and Spirit are holy. But let's not take the idea of "holiness" and turn it into a word that means distant, far off, or unapproachable. Because that's not the way God is at all. God is right here. God is good. God is full of love and compassion. The words are so familiar that they can seem trite, but they're not: "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Years ago, when I was participating in a retreat for Christians, I heard something that I'd never thought about before, something that imprinted itself on my very soul. A number of us all had our heads bowed in prayer, and then the leader asked us to say out loud what we knew to be true about God. From around the room came one comment after another:
"God is good."
"God is merciful."
"God is gracious."
"God is glorious."
Those were all good and true statements, and we all murmured our assent to each one. Then one member of the group, a very wise man, softly added, "God is Christlike." I'd never thought about it in just that way before. My head snapped up and my eyes flew open—and I wept. Of course this is true. God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one. They are all like one another.
If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus, the one who allowed Himself to be put to death for our sake.
Thinking about the love of God reminds me of my grandmother. She was a precious woman, one of those sweet ladies who sent birthday cards to every young person she knew. She worked for many years at an elementary school and was loved by hundreds of kids, so she sent a lot of cards. She usually tucked a $2 bill into those cards. And she always signed them the same way. On every card, she wrote, "Smile. God loves you. So do I."
As I remember the events of this day, that's the message I'd like to see on a poster.
Smile. God loves you. So do I.
Dear God, may my life proclaim the message you proclaimed so loudly on that blessed Friday so long ago.
A blessed Good Friday to you, my friends. What message would you like to share on this day?
Some of the lettering had faded by the time I snapped this picture, but perhaps you can still see that the message is "Love God."
A year later, we saw a skywriter perform once again. This time the message was a little different:
We didn't get to see the finished words here, but we knew what they would be. The skywriter was spelling out "Jesus loves you."
On this Good Friday, I'm pondering these two messages, blazoned on the sky by courageous pilots. Two messages about the Lord we worship.
I was watching TV footage of a street demonstration of some kind. One of the participants held a poster stating, "Jesus loves you but God is holy." I have no idea what the demonstration was about; it could have been any number of hot-button issues, I suppose.
That sign broke my heart.
It contained two important facts, of course. Jesus does love you--no matter who the "you" is. And God is holy. But why would those statements be linked with the word "but"? As if they are in contradiction to each other? As if God and Jesus were in disagreement about something!
Today, Good Friday, we commemorate the greatest act of sacrifice ever made—the crucifixion of Jesus. After taking on a human body, after living a life free from any kind of sin or guile, after teaching and loving people and reaching out to those most despised by society and healing the sick and restoring sight to the blind, Jesus allowed himself to be put to be tortured and put to death. Jesus died so we could live. Yes, Jesus loves us.
And that radical plan for the salvation of humankind—the son of God living on earth as a human, teaching people how to live, allowing Himself to be killed—that plan wasn't just the work of Jesus. That was the work of all three members of the Trinity. God is ONE God in three persons, and Father, Son, and Spirit love us. There can never be a disagreement within the Trinity.
Yes, for sure, God is holy; Father, Son, and Spirit are holy. But let's not take the idea of "holiness" and turn it into a word that means distant, far off, or unapproachable. Because that's not the way God is at all. God is right here. God is good. God is full of love and compassion. The words are so familiar that they can seem trite, but they're not: "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Years ago, when I was participating in a retreat for Christians, I heard something that I'd never thought about before, something that imprinted itself on my very soul. A number of us all had our heads bowed in prayer, and then the leader asked us to say out loud what we knew to be true about God. From around the room came one comment after another:
"God is good."
"God is merciful."
"God is gracious."
"God is glorious."
Those were all good and true statements, and we all murmured our assent to each one. Then one member of the group, a very wise man, softly added, "God is Christlike." I'd never thought about it in just that way before. My head snapped up and my eyes flew open—and I wept. Of course this is true. God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one. They are all like one another.
If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus, the one who allowed Himself to be put to death for our sake.
Thinking about the love of God reminds me of my grandmother. She was a precious woman, one of those sweet ladies who sent birthday cards to every young person she knew. She worked for many years at an elementary school and was loved by hundreds of kids, so she sent a lot of cards. She usually tucked a $2 bill into those cards. And she always signed them the same way. On every card, she wrote, "Smile. God loves you. So do I."
As I remember the events of this day, that's the message I'd like to see on a poster.
Smile. God loves you. So do I.
Dear God, may my life proclaim the message you proclaimed so loudly on that blessed Friday so long ago.
A blessed Good Friday to you, my friends. What message would you like to share on this day?
Beautiful message today Richella. I'm glad I feel it in my heart that Jesus loves me and thank Him for taking care of me every day. I couldn't do it without Him. I hope you have a blessed Easter and thank you Jesus!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter to you and your family!
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