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By Rev Don Rivers
The Easter holiday is one of the most anticipated weekends of the spring. We look to the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection and the hope it brings. Easter is the unofficial beginning of Spring. As we prepare to celebrate Holy Week and the Easter holiday what are we anticipating? What are our expectations? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The familiar sounds of race cars have started to fill the air. The local tracks in the Northeast have been buzzing with activity, The traditions of Spring move closer on the calendar; Thompson has broken the Ice, and the Sizzler isn’t far behind at Stafford. The race season has sprung to life.
With that comes anticipation and expectation. I find it interesting how much hope Spring holds. The reality of expectation doesn’t set in until we get deeper in the season. Sometimes we don’t realize the significance of the early season and the way events will shape the races to come. We fail sometimes to see things with an understanding of their long-term implications.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Many thought it was His time to set the nation of Isreal free from the oppression of Rome. They anticipated He would be their savior. He would, but not in the way they thought.
John 12; 12-13; NLT; The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,
“Praise God!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hail to the King of Israel!”
Have you ever thought you wanted one thing but in reality you needed something else? We look forward and try to anticipate our needs. From there we plan to acquire things to meet those needs. The folks welcomed Jesus with celebration and anticipation. Soon those cheers would change to cries of “Crucify Him.”
Some think that Christ didn’t anticipate the change of public opinion, but He knew what the week would hold. Not only did He know he, was willing to endure it for our sake.
Philippians 2:5-8; NLT; Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
The plan all along was to provide a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. To restore our relationship with God. While the nation of Isreal wanted someone to drive out the Romans, they needed salvation from their sin. We can fall into the same trap; wanting something but needing something else, something more valuable.
We should be celebrating that; the fact that Christ was willing to come and give His life for us as an atoning sacrifice for sin. That is the gift of Salvation. A gift we all need to receive.
Holy Week draws our attention to the contrast of what we think is happening to what really is happening. It is said, we don’t know what we need until we have what we want. In other words, we have trouble embracing our needs. Our wants on the other hand, we seem to have an endless list.
There are those in life that have our best interest at heart. They care about us and are willing to do things that benefit us. They have an understanding of what is best for us, what we truly need. They challenge us to make the hard choices that need to be made for the benefit of our future.
We have trouble figuring that out about us. We are short sighted and tend not to see what is most beneficial for us. This is difficult for us to see what we need over what we want.
God knows what we need. He also knows what we want. He knows what is most beneficial to live an abundant life. The blessing is He took steps to put that in place for us.
John 3:16-17; NIV; For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
The entry into Jerusalem announced the time had come to follow through with the plan. The people thought one thing and God had other plans. Let me say this is not the first time that we failed to see how God was providing for us. The challenge for us is to put our trust and faith in His plan. To embrace His provision and receive it with gratitude.
As the week plays out we will see the transition from celebration to agitation. We see the fickleness of popular opinion. We see how the crowd can be swayed by a few loud voices. We see the shouts of Hosanna replaced by Crucify Him.
I want to encourage you to not be swayed by the noise of popular opinion. Things are not all that we are told. We need to seek out the truth, follow the way, and let Christ give us life. He has made a provision for us, not only in this world but for Eternity.
John 14:5-6; NLT; “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.
