Today is Easter. That probably is not shock to most people. I think it’s not a surprise to anyone who has been following me for anytime that I am a Christian; a pretty devout Christian at that. That makes today important.
I actually am writing this on Friday – Good Friday – the day that Christian’s mark as Christ’s day of death. Without Good Friday, there is no Easter. Without death this is no resurrection. The older I get, the more I’ve come to appreciate that point. I have come to appreciate Good Friday more.
I think it’s due to the fact that as we age we experience pain. It’s hard to really understand joy without experiencing pain. Like most kids, I felt my share of pain, but not like I have as an adult. They say that death, divorce and the destruction of a home (fire, tornado, earthquake, etc) are the most emotionally painful things we can experience as humans.
I’ve never lost my home, but I’ve experienced death and divorce. Divorce as a kid – I was really young (3 years old) when my parents split up, so I dealt more with the long-term effects of divorce. Death wasn’t something I faced directly until as a senior in high school. A friend (who had moved away) died in a freak car accident. It shook me up, but still from a young person’s perspective.
As an adult I’ve seen friends divorce and grandparents pass away, but more devastating has been the death of dreams. I’ve watched my secret and open ambitions pass away. I’ve had to walk away from goals and lost achievements.
However, for me, that is where the pain and joy of Good Friday and Easter truly take place. I have come to believe that God allows us to experience the death of a dream to see it’s resurrection later. According to what I understand of the Bible, the resurrected body looks similar to the old body, but completely different at the same time (part of the reason that some of Jesus’ closest friends didn’t always recognize him after his resurrection).
The pain of death is replaced by the joy of resurrection. The resurrected dream doesn’t usually look quite like the original – sometimes nothing at all like the first idea. That is a beautiful thing. The resurrected dream (and reality) are what brings true joy, and buries the old pain.
Whether it’s today or later this year, I hope you experience the joy of resurrected dreams – no mater what they now look like. Happy Easter
Enjoy this brand new video from Jeremy Cowart – A Portrait of Christ
A Portrait of Christ from Jeremy Cowart on Vimeo.
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