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One of my favorite features of my TV service is the ability to skip over ads in shows that I have recorded. It is so nice not to have to watch another spot for a drug I don't need, a car I won't buy, or a lawyer I hope to never hire.
Skipping over ads makes me a lot happier, and sometimes, I wish I had the ability to use this function in my everyday life. I would love to be able to skip over things like being sick, having difficult conversations, or paying bills.
Of course, the reality of life is that we can't skip over or ignore the difficult parts. We are forced to work through them, and we hope, be changed by them.
Even though we can't skip over difficult things, sometimes we avoid them at all costs. Rather than embracing what is before us and allowing God to change us and give us a new perspective, we will ignore the thing, hoping it will go away. Of course, ignoring difficult things doesn't work too well; eventually we are confronted and forced to deal with them. We are often then worse off because we haven't faced what is before us.
As we prepare for Easter, many times, we unknowingly employ this strategy and miss out on what God wants us to understand. We attempt to skip from the triumph of Palm Sunday to the victory of Easter, without first walking the difficult road to the cross of Calvary with Jesus Christ. We seem to want to embrace only the "feel-good" parts of the story and ignore the pain and suffering that the cross forces us to face.
But we can't avoid, skip ahead, and simply ignore the cross. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, if we want to know the power and victory of the resurrection, we must first share in the suffering and cross of Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:10-11). If we are going to follow Christ, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). This process begins by taking time to reflect on the cross, surveying both its horror and beauty. Through reflecting on the pain, sorrow, and suffering of Jesus Christ, we can better appreciate His great love and mercy that caused Him to go to the cross on our behalf.
Along with reflecting on the cross, we should also spend some time reflecting on the sinful parts of our lives that need to be put to death. We should heed the words of Galatians 5:24 and "crucify the flesh with its passions and desires" (NIV). As we walk through the death of Jesus, and allow ourselves to be crucified with Him, only then can we better understand and grasp the power and victory that is ours in His resurrection.
It is tempting to skip ahead, avoid the cross, and simply rejoice in the resurrection, but if we journey to the cross, we will find that by following Jesus there, our celebration will have an even greater meaning, and our lives will truly be changed!
Rev. Robert Rice, pastor, Muncy Baptist Church, an American Baptist church, 11 W. Penn St., Muncy, muncybaptistchurch.org