Christ is Risen

As we begin this Holy Week in remembrance, reflection, and celebration of the most life changing events in human history, I am overwhelmed with joy in the truth that Christ is risen and alive today!  He is alive and well in the hearts, lives, and actions of His followers who have carried their crosses, and spread His love since His death and resurrection over 2,000 years ago.  It is in this joy and gratefulness, however, that we are also forced to face the truth of the matter that necessitated Christ's death on that cross so many years ago.  


It was the sin of the human race, past, present and future; our sin that held Him there as He cried out to His Maker.  He had done nothing wrong, and yet He took our place upon that cross.  He had committed no crime, and yet He paid for our lives with His blood along side those who had.  Yes, it was a remarkable and necessary event, seeing as the wages of sin is death, but it is key to recall that it was our sin that put Him there.   


Now in the sadness of this realization, we can take heart in the outcome of Christ's death on the cross.  For though our actions put Him there, the love and power of God overcame the cross, overcame our sin, and defeated death for any and all who confess Christ as their risen Lord!  It is because of this death and resurrection, this life saving event by the Maker and Lover of our souls, that we are given the gift of everlasting life.  We do not deserve it; in fact, we deserve just the opposite, but Christ is in the business of forgiving, and His actions on the cross are proof of that.  


Verse:
"He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.  And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
~Matthew 28:6-7


I cannot express how bitter sweet the emotions are when I think of the events that took place at Calvary so many years ago, but the one truth I can rejoice in is that Christ is risen, He is alive, He forgives us, and He longs for a relationship with each and every one of us.  We've run long enough.  It is time we turn to Him, cast our fears and worries at His feet, and thank the Lord for the risen Christ who is and was, and is to come!  Christ is risen!  


The lyrics to the song Christ is Risen by Matt Maher express the depth of this truth:


Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
We fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely you bled, for us

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave!

Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with him again
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave!

Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bow to none but heavens will
No scheme of hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold you down
In strength you reign
Forever let your church proclaim


And here is a cover of this song that I made last night!


http://soundcloud.com/jacob_wager/christ-is-risen


Much love and God bless y'all!