The question remains

Robert Mulholland said, "We are all too ready to be the Jesus who feeds 5,000, but not the Jesus who fasts for 40 days; to be the Jesus who casts out demons, but not the Jesus who is tempted by the Devil; to be the Jesus who is transfigured, but not the Jesus who is despised and rejected; to be the Jesus who alleviates suffering and heals infirmities, but not the Jesus who is a 'man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity' (Is. 53:3); to be the resurrected Jesus, but not the crucified Jesus."

Easter is past.

What are we ready for now?

Christ is resurrected and ascended. Because He said, "I will never leave you or forsake you" the question Pilate asked before the crucifixion remains relevant; "What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?"

How will we respond to Pilate's question? Will we prove Mulholland's observation true or false in our life? What shall we do?

In Paul's words, we are to "grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" (Eph. 4:15).

Peter frames it more boldly; we are to become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4).

How is that safe unlocked?

Jesus said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Mt. 16:24). He then said, "Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it" (16:25).

To grow up in Christ and become like Him requires us to let God be God and quit trying to be our own god.

It is not our own effort that will overcome the strong wrong desires we have that lead to destructive words and actions. Rather, it is recognizing the sin that separates us from Christ and our opening the door to invite Him into our sinful life so that He can nourish us and restore us to spiritual health.

Paul describes this process when he says, "I have been crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:19), "our old self was crucified with him" (Rom. 6:6), "those who belong to Messiah Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal. 5:24). Paul uses "old self," and "the flesh" to describe a state of being in rejection of God as God.

Easter is about love. God loved us so much He sent Jesus Christ to be God in the flesh. Jesus loved us so much He taught, healed, and died to allow us to be restored in our relationship with God the Father, other people, and God's creation.

The question remains. Do we love Jesus enough to trust Him with our present and future life?

-- Dr. Randy Rowlan is pastor of First United Methodist Church. Comments are welcomed at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Religion on 04/23/2014