"At present, we do not see this, but we see Him who for a season was humbled to be lower than the angels - Jesus - now crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death so that by God's grace He might taste death for everyone...
It was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many to glory, should be the author of salvation through such suffering". Hebrews 2:9 & 10.
So there I was, traveling across the beautiful Devon countryside, listening to a friend convey their puzzlement at the 'move-ability' of the feast of Easter, enjoying the lightness of the friendly banter, but already feeling in my depths that THE special moment of the year was about to arrive again - when both the season of nature and the 'moment' often termed holy week had once more merged to convey a truth as deep and as precious as the sweetest pollen on a morning breeze....
Once more my thoughts returned to that moment in the garden when Father, Son and Spirit had acted together in the final creative moment of that first 'holy' week - to make one (male and female) which would express His likeness and Image (note: holy because of God's conclusive 'inhabiting' of the 7th day). Theologians have long pondered in what sense this is true of us, and it may be that all of such answers hold some aspect of the answer, but there is one answer that must be true.
The famous statement of the Westminster Confession speaks of how our purpose is to glorify God and thereby enjoy Him forever, to fulfill the greatest commandment, but tied to this is the other great command - to love each other. When we look upon the temple of God's handiwork structured and then furnished in the work of creation, we view the realm where we are intended to be 'priests and kings' - those responsible for living a life toward God and each other that will indeed express the 'beauty of holiness' by the fact that all of this was made good and is meant to be used well. We can so often seek God in all the wrong places, when He wishes us to invest reality into the soil beneath our feet, the handiwork of our hands, the passion of our hearts.
Good Friday is a day when we can begin to comprehend the breadth, height and depth of God's love for us and the world He has made - that Christ came, suffered and died to remove the stain of our folly of seeking to be gods and becoming less than human. We can indeed look upon Jesus and see the new beginning; the one which so clearly speaks of the world in which there will be no more sin and sickness, suffering or sorrow, but a glorious eternity of life marked by love and joy in His care.
Come and dine - taste and see, that the wine of His mercy, the bread of His provision, will make your soul assured, and your face to shine..!
Sola Deo Gloria.
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