GC Easter Message - My Lord and My God

There are men and women sitting on the pews every Sunday, hurting and hiding wounds from hurts that have afflicted them heavily. There are men and women who will be visiting our churches on Easter Sunday who wouldn’t dare step into what they think is a holy place, because they are ashamed of their sins and the scars they are hiding as well. They will be absolutely clueless that the usher, perhaps, or the pastor’s wife or any other person sitting beside them is also hurting and hiding wounds too.

Our Easter Sunday friends will leave for yet another year or so without so much as meeting and hearing the testimony of someone – the one person – who will make them comfortable and give them the right word they need to take a step towards salvation, restoration and receiving the unconditional love of Christ. Someone will walk away thinking that they don’t quite measure up to the façades of happiness, affluence, and make-believe joy on the faces of the people sitting beside them.

Before they leave, they will hear a sermon telling them about a Jesus who rose again and then ascended. Maybe in the content of that sermon is an admonishment or two about living right, speaking right and acting like Jesus. The minister will most likely mention that Jesus died for our sins and so that we can have eternal life.

And there will be an altar call and she or he will be urged to invite Jesus into their heart; and then he or she will ask himself, for what?

Now, for some people the answer will be crystal clear. They may invite Him in because they just cannot fathom living in hell for eternity. Or, they may invite Him because it’s time; they’ve reached an age where they can no longer justify living the way they want to live. Or, they feel like impressing Mama and making her proud. Or, they are going through a crisis and reaching out to Jesus as a last-ditch effort.

Yet, for others, the answer will not be so clear after they’ve scanned the sanctuary and seen all of these seemingly holy and happy people. Okay, eternal life will make sense to them. And, the aching in their hearts will beckon them to make a decision for Christ. The one thing that will hold them back, however, will be the shame and embarrassment of having to rise in front of this pristine crew of Jesus’ folks. He or she will think, I’m not worthy, I’m just not worthy. And Jesus will be whispering, I say you are, follow Me. Just look at My scars and believe!