Nothing can compare

 

While reading from the Acts of the Apostles today, I was reminded that we Christians are all called to share the Good News about Jesus.  Some of the apostles had been arrested for preaching about Jesus and had been placed in a public prison.  The apostles felt compelled to tell the story of Jesus and invite others to join them, so that they, too, might be saved [Acts 5:17-26].  I wonder how I would have reacted to being imprisoned for sharing the Good News about who Jesus is and what Jesus offers us followers?  I’d like to think that I would have kept on proclaiming Jesus, but I have to wonder if I would have trusted God’s plan under imprisonment.

It would have been amazing to have been released from prison by an angel of the Lord, and I think that part of the point of the story is just like the apostles are told by the angel; all followers of Jesus Christ are called to “tell the people the whole message about this life.”  The whole message is that Jesus loves us and everybody, that Jesus came to save us all, that Jesus calls us to follow Him in love and humility, and that Jesus invites us each day to choose life with Him.  For me that means being willing to try to be aware of my own greed, my own self-interest, my own judgments of others, and my need to be well thought of by others.  As I try to go deeper with Jesus in love, service, and commitment, Jesus always seems to invite me to “come away to a quiet place” [Mark 6:31] and to try to proclaim Jesus in my life.  Sometimes it’s easy to proclaim Jesus, and sometimes when I’m having a disagreement with someone about something, it’s not so easy.  I want to have things my way, and I don’t always feel open to a process of dialogue, listening, responding, and forming a plan together.  There are days when I would much rather leave out the messy, disturbing parts of life.  But all of us are called to live in the here and now of life, and called to walk the smooth roads, the bumpy roads, and roads in all kinds of condition on our journey with Jesus.

I believe that just as the apostles were transformed into bold proclaimers of Jesus after the coming of the Holy Spirit, all followers are called to be transformed as well.  How am I sharing the love of Jesus with my family today?  How do I share the love of Jesus with my neighbors and my co-workers?  How do I share the love of Jesus with those whom I don’t agree with and don’t particularly like?  These are questions that can lead me to reflect more deeply on how I’m following Jesus, and hopefully lead to action, just as the apostles were led to action.  I need to be with Jesus, in order to grow in my faith, but I also need to do, so that my faith is alive.

What an amazing gift God has given us.  He sent His Son to redeem each of us [John 3:16-21].  We can easily see ourselves as insignificant, just because of the sheer numbers of people who share this planet with us now, not to mention throughout history.  We can see what we do as insignificant in comparison with the brilliant, the great, the famous and those known for their holiness.  We can see our insignificance in so many ways, but God doesn’t see any of us as insignificant.  He sent His Son for each of us individually.

What a love that is!  I wonder why it’s so incomprehensible.  All we have to do is accept that love.  We make the choice.  God doesn’t choose whether to love us.  He loves us—period!  We make the choice whether to accept His love and live in His light or reject His love and live in the dark.  It seems like a no-brainer.

One might wonder what would ever lead us to reject this most fantastic gift.  But what’s most awesome about all of this is that when we’re foolish enough to reject His gift, it’s still there for us.  He doesn’t take away the redemptive power of His Son.  His love is there for us to accept.  In that love there’s total comfort and security, no matter what else is going on around us.  There’s nothing in our human experience that can begin to compare to the gift of Easter.

“Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame.” [Psalm 34]