Easter Thoughts

Foundation Waiting

(by R.P.Edwards)

Foundation forgotten

Still to find

For those whose heart

Supplants the mind

For fleshly reasoning

Seeks the flame

But humble hearts

Call out the name

Jesus

 

 

 

This gentle offering is being written on Easter (Resurrection Day) night, and let me begin with a memory.

 

Long, long ago; when this writer was a late teenager, I was a lowly swab on a destroyer stationed in Pearl Harbor (no, I'm not THAT old). Among those who were my betters there was a Chief Petty officer (his name escapes me) who had a sour disposition and, the fact that I was a fledgling Christian probably didn't help.

 

One day, as I was manning the telephone at the Quarterdeck (where navy folk came on or exited the ship), I received an outside call, and the voice I heard belonged to said Chief. However, rather than the snarling superior that I expected, he began to give me fatherly advice as to matters of faith. Honestly...I thought he was drunk.

 

Well, it turns out that this gentleman had had a hospital experience that caused him to pause and consider seriously his life's path, and final destination. He had already heard of the Savior, Jesus (through his wife, I believe), and the humbling caused by the ailment put things (the important things) in perspective. He reached out for mercy and, simply put, his life was transformed. We, in fact, became quite cordial, to the point that he, on at least one occasion, had me accompany him to a religious gathering. Yes, his transformation was genuine; because his God...was/is genuine.

 

So, to my point: I KNOW from experience that the resurrected Jesus is real. He in fact lives in my breast even now and our fellowship is ongoing. For, you see, I too had a moment of clarity (as to my spiritual condition) and I too reached out to the Savior whose resurrection we celebrate this day. AND, I've seen it happen over and over and over again. Yes, those deemed irreparable in man's eyes, were/are made new, whole, reborn. And, if the reader is stirred at all at the prospect, then please click on the photo of the cross in the upper right; labeled "Of First Importance." I hope you will.

So, why the photograph above? It is a barren slab; a foundation, which once supported a structure. There's more to say about it, but I'll save that for another time. Happy Resurrection Day!

***

A question to skeptics

 

 

For the skeptics
(by R.P.Edwards)

If the resurrection’s false
Then all “He” taught is too
The promise of eternal life
A fairytale…for fools
But here’s a question for the skeptics
Who have learned of how “they” died
Would they suffer for a liar?
Or the man…they saw…arise

Peter, crucified upside-down.  James, beheaded.  Thomas, lanced and burned.  Matthew, axed to death.  Simon, crucified.  Matthias, stoned and beheaded.  Bartholomew, flayed and crucified. 

Eye witnesses.  Those who had actually walked with Jesus.  Those who saw Him…die, and rise again. The traditional accounts of “their” deaths begs the question; would they suffer so…for a liar?  Granted, people will latch on to all kinds of beliefs and undergo extreme hardship for an intangible that is only concrete…in their own minds.  But these; they were with Him; they saw the thousands fed, and healed, and delivered.  And they heard His assertion of a resurrection.  Would they really be willing to go and preach a gospel of forgiveness through the blood of the cross; a gospel that invited ridicule and injury and death…if Jesus’ final proof…was no proof at all?

The obvious answer is “no.“ But, even as I write I perceive there are skeptics among us who will rally their many arguments against this, and any other so-called “evidence” that there ever was a God whose great love for us took shape in the form of a babe, who then grew and went on to preach the truth, only to die a horrible death; and then, as an ultimate proof of divinity, was raised three days later.  But, though they cleverly try to deflect every advance, one argument cannot be countered; that of the personal testimony.  You see, I know the carpenter exists.  Long ago I learned of his love, and it wooed me, and I invited Him into my troubled, repentant heart.  And I know; I know! there was an entering, a cleansing, an embracing, a fellowshipping. I know there was a darkness; and now there is light.  I know there was a tearful before, and now there is a joyful after.  And, “knowing” all this, I can imagine why these first century believers (and many more since and currently) welcomed the threatenings of death…to share a message…of true life.

So, to those who know Him; Happy Resurrection Day!  And to the skeptics, some gentle advice: if you will simply pause long enough to listen, you may very well hear Him knocking…at your hearts door.  A simple beginning might be, "Lord, if you're real...show me."

That’s what I think.  How about you?  Click comments below…and say.