Responses
adriennelynne: joy! (3/23/08)
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Responses (sorted by date)
adriennelynne: joy! (3/23/08)
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It is one o'clock in the morning on Easter Sunday and I can't sleep. I have the drug jitters again and my arm is tingling and today is big. It is really big. If what we celebrate today didn't happen then everything I have staked my life on is stupid and meaningless. If the resurrection is a myth then I am the silliest of fools. Of course, it did happen! I know it because, by his grace, I have come to know the amazing One who walked from the grave and truly changed the course of human events. I know Him as brother and friend and object of desire and King of kings and Lord of lords. It is a complex relationship that is ever changing and changeless. A relationship of weakness next to strength, of sinfulness in opposition to righteousness, of disorder next to peace, of grace to cover the gulf between us. A grace so insistent and powerful that it breaks through death itself to reach me. What joy!
I am joyful that my youngest son is snoring in the bedroom next door. Joyful that my oldest son is flopped out asleep on the living room floor with the tv blaring an infomercial. How good to be surrounded by good sons and a godly wife. I am joyful that my friend Ginger can celebrate the reality of resurrection this morning--that her mother is dancing in whatever is the great Next. I am joyful that my friend Jan can dance at the graveyard and thumb his nose at death. I am joyful that I can prepare to worship this afternoon with a community I love. I am joyful that I get to cook forty pounds of yellow squash for the feast Eric and I will serve this beautiful community of little Christs. I am joyful that in the great resurrection I will meet Jesus face to face. I am joyful that this is not all there is. I am joyful that those who share in His suffering will share in His glory. I am joyful that my sin did not drive Him away, but compelled Him to leave the glories of heaven, lay down His precious life, and offer me freedom from fear and hope for tomorrow by stepping from death to life.
Joy is a great gift. It is a gift to be taken hold of and to be held on to in the darker days ahead. Joy is not easy. Brokenness, suffering, pain, and the jitters mitigate against believing that today matters and that joy is even possible. Joy comes in the morning, but new days start with darkness. Joy happens in the middle of the darkness, because we know that even though the grave was full, it would soon be empty. I pray now for the glorious rising of Christ in you and in those you love. I pray for the joy of new life, new starts, new hopes, and newness of heart. I pray that as you rise, you will know He is risen. I pray that will send you dancing and giggling and giddy with joy to worship the One who made it so. May you know Him fully as you are fully known.
Take joy, for He is risen!
...even in the darkness of night.
Rod |
