Today, Good Friday, is a statutory holiday in Ontario and thus most of the province spent their first day of a three (or four)-day long weekend off from work. Being a Christian myself, this day is very important in my life as a reminder not only of the massively significant life of Jesus of Nazareth but also His willing sacrifice on behalf of humanity and ability to deliver a lasting and complete remedy to sin.
In our day and age people have gotten so used to the idea of the ability to chose and sit in judgment over matters that enter their life, that they have allowed themselves to enter into a state where, truly, nothing is sacred any longer and we cannot take any moral good for granted any more. This is not a new phenomenon in my experience but it is getting more intense, and it really impacts me when the Gospel accounts of the trial of Jesus are read.
Pontius Pilate, who was governor of Judea at the time of the crucification, is quoted quite bluntly in the Bible as saying a simple little phrase:
What is truth?
The question came in response to Jesus claiming to be the truth and life who had authority over all creation and to set the world free from its own sinful desires and the subsequent consequences. Every time I hear it though, it reminds me of those who will question any and every reality in our world no matter how plain and obvious the reality is. It grieves me to know that the greatest hindrance for many people is the self-imposed limits on any reality that would force us to look inside, recognize that we’re not “basically good people” and even require some changes in how we live our lives. It’s a horrible prison to put yourself into, especially when the truth is so joyous although urgent once revealed. Pilate too didn’t seemed concerned with truth, but rather asked his question as if to say that he made his own truth and could not come to terms with surrendering any control over the course of his life.
Instead of pointing this out though, I’d like to offer a personal example today of how my perspectives have changed over the past two years. While I was always active in the Christian community, it was not until just a couple of years ago that I really began to see my true role in the universe…and it wasn’t much in the end! I was honestly afraid of handing the reigns over, even to a God who I believed in and professed to know as being Almighty! It was also a matter of believing that somehow I could do better on my own and that God, while having a place scheduled in on Sunday mornings, was too intrusive if He was to guide and lead me in every moment of my life. To take it further, I still struggle with this as every Christian does too often — sin is after all an uncontrollable reality of our lives the moment that we take our eyes off God.
Part of the issue was also that while I wanted to see God as Saviour, I never truly grasped what it meant to have God as Lord in my life as well. Given His infinite wisdom and desire for the wellbeing of me, I reluctantly came to realize that maybe, just maybe, the Creator of the universe might have a better perspective on my situations and was thus better able to protect me from destroying myself. It is sadly too common in our culture to believe that we are capable of all the answers, even though we NEVER achieve this, and yes, I bought into that lie too. In the end though, it was the real truth — the one that told me that I had it wrong on a great many of my personal dogmas and morals — that did set me free and put my life on a path that has been far more joyful ever since. Knowledge in itself does not make things better though, and the more important step was to accept my role as mere servant within instead of master of my life.
So, in conclusion for this Easter, I write out to anyone, even people who are Christians and very familiar with Christian theology, who is struggling with truly wanting to find joy in their life, and truth that if you are bold enough to accept all the possibilities, including the ones that have man on the bottom and God on top (as opposed to the opposite), then there is hope out there at coming to know this realization without any doubt. You don’t even need to go anywhere to get there either, as God is only as far away as a “Hello God!”
Happy Easter everyone and God Bless!
Smarter than Ezra wrote:
Or for those of you who are not Christian, Jesus is dead, go get some chocolate.
Don’t worry, Matthew will delete this anyway.
Posted on 21-Mar-08 at 8:57 pm | Permalink
Hunter wrote:
Smarter, why would Matthew delete this post? Because it offends you?
Finding joy in your life can be as simple as planting a flower, watering it and watching it grow and bloom. The underlying fact is that whether you believe in God or not, by the very act of planting that flower, you are celebrating life.
Those who take no joy in life have no guide, no direction, no compass. It must be an empty life. God does not bring joy, a belief in something, anything, other than yourself is what matters.
God Bless and have a great Easter Matthew!
Posted on 21-Mar-08 at 9:51 pm | Permalink
Babylonian wrote:
Pax Cristi…
…I don’t know how someone can live without some form of faith. I have come to the conclsuion that the Jesus Christ is the master of the universe. I hope all have a happy easter.
Smarter then Ezra, give me an email if you would like to chat about the subject, I would like to. If you are in the Mississauga are we could go for a coffee.
fouratengineer@yahoo.com
Posted on 21-Mar-08 at 9:58 pm | Permalink
Steynianism 88.0 « Free Mark Steyn! wrote:
[…] HERE’S SOME Reflections For Easter 2008 …. […]
Posted on 22-Mar-08 at 11:26 am | Permalink
Smarter than Ezra wrote:
After 4 years of seminary and two years of missionary work, I am pretty sure I have based my world view on sound footing. Thanks for the offer Babylonian, that is very Christian of you, but I hope you don’t mind if I turn down your very generous offer.
Posted on 22-Mar-08 at 12:25 pm | Permalink
Smarter than Ezra wrote:
Hunter: my first post, not his. Matthew has a habit of deleting or editing posts without the permission of the site administrator or poster. To be honest, I am surprised it is still up.
Posted on 22-Mar-08 at 12:37 pm | Permalink
Matthew wrote:
Ezra, you and I know that is simply not true; there are a few instances where I made a judgment call based on the content of your posts, although I leave the vast majority of your posts up, if for no other reason than for people to judge your comments for the non-stop complaining that they are.
Posted on 22-Mar-08 at 1:20 pm | Permalink
Smarter than Ezra wrote:
If by judgement you mean religious censorship, then sure. Sadly, since you deleted those posts, there is no longer any evidence.
Ironically, I think the Mormons have it right. Their 11th article of faith states:
“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.”
Sadly, Matthew and Charles don’t think that people should be able to worship (or not) according to their conscience. Rather, they ridicule others and censor them for believing something different. Sorta reminds me of an episode of the Spitting Image from the 80s. Does anyone remember the skit My God is Better than Your God?
Posted on 22-Mar-08 at 2:46 pm | Permalink
Charles Anthony wrote:
Matthew,
Your post includes one single quote from the Bible, Pilate’s question “What is truth?” and you go on to say “Every time I hear it though, it reminds me of those who will question any and every reality in our world no matter how plain and obvious the reality is.”
What strikes me when I hear it: there is no answer. We can infer that The Truth Is Jesus but effectively, the answer to the question is left to the reader.
For you, it reminds you of people who question everything. I believe humans are defined by their nature to question everything — ultimately, they reach a brick wall with certain things. Pilate’s question represents the brick wall and Jesus leaves it to us to accept him with our own free will.
This open-ended part of the Bible (like many others) is convenient for me because I am an anarchist. As a Christian, I have had to reconcile my faith with my politics and this quote gives me more strength. There is no authority over Man on Earth except God or through His Son. Point final. Furthermore, that authority is voluntary. There are other passages in the Bible which give me strength too but that is enough for now.
One other thing that strikes me is that Jesus does not command Pilate to accept him and Pilate’s response “I find no guilt in him” is objectively truthful from a non-believer’s perspective.
Jesus does not pose a threat to non-believers. Granted, his servants may do so but that is a different story.
—–
I wish everyone a Happy Easter and that Christ’s resurrection fills all of our lives. Now, we have to usher our little brats off to mass with bribes of hidden chocolates when we return!
Posted on 23-Mar-08 at 5:51 am | Permalink
Smarter than Ezra wrote:
Sorry Charles, I meant Shane.
Posted on 23-Mar-08 at 8:37 am | Permalink
Charles Anthony wrote:
No prob StEzra, I figured 60/40 as much.
Posted on 23-Mar-08 at 12:26 pm | Permalink
igloogirl wrote:
Smart-Ass-Ezra says that “THEY ridicule others”? And yet look at the content of the first post. On one of the most significant days of the year for Christians he just cannot contain himself, he must try his best to offend.
Posted on 25-Mar-08 at 9:48 pm | Permalink