This past Sunday (it was Easter for those of you not paying attention) I spent some time reflecting on how much I enjoy Easter celebrations. I enjoy worship more on Easter Sunday than any other Sunday. My perspective is different. I tend to live with the resurrection at the forefront of my mind. As I was reflecting on this, I thought about how sad it is that I don’t live with this perspective everyday. Immediately I remembered a powerful sermon called “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Coming” (check it out here if you have never seen it before).
Someone shared with me earlier in the week the difference between being affected by the resurrection and being infected by the resurrection. This is what was written, “To be affected, means that you have heard of the resurrection, and it has may have had an affect in your life, but it did not stick around long enough to make a real difference or a permanent impact. To be infected, is to have a permanent and constant change, one that many other, if not all other, decisions are affected by.”
As I reflected on these things I wrote the following:
It’s Easter Sunday and I am living in the grace offered by Jesus
But, Monday is coming and I will judge myself based on my ability to adhere to a list of rules
It’s Easter Sunday and I live with immense hope
But, Monday is coming and I will live a defeated life
It’s Easter Sunday I eat, drink and am merry because death has died
But, Monday is coming and I will eat, drink and be merry because tomorrow you die
It’s Easter Sunday and I share with other believers in the celebration of the defeat of sin and death
But, Monday is coming and I will point the finger at the sinful actions of other believers
It’s Easter Sunday and I recognize that Jesus died and was resurrected for the sins of all people
But Monday is coming and I will be a Romans chapter 2 person judging Romans chapter 1 people
It’s Easter Sunday and I boast only in the cross
But, Monday is coming and I willboast in the things I have done, or I live in condemnation of my failures
It’s Easter Sunday and my pursuit of Christ-likeness is a pursuit of righteousness that I can’t earn on my own
But, Monday is coming and my pursuit of Christ-likeness will merely be a pursuit of morality that I pursue on my own
It’s Easter Sunday and I groan as I watch the world news out of compassion
But, Monday is coming and I will groan and grumble at the world news with contempt and judgment
It’s Easter Sunday and I have a broad, open and far reaching view of life
But, Monday is coming and I will have a narrow-minded short sighted view of life
It’s Easter Sunday and I have an eternal perspective causing me to be gracious and generous
But, Monday is coming and I will have a temporal perspective, so I better get mine while I can
It’s Easter Sunday and I am humbled that Jesus finds me worthy
But Monday is coming and in my false sense of pride I judge myself and others based on my imperfect notions of worth and value
It’s Easter Sunday and I have compassion for non-believers because they don’t know
But, Monday is coming and I will condemn non-believers for what they don’t know, and how they live as a result of that
It’s Easter Sunday and I believe Jesus was divine and died because of his love
But, Monday is coming and will live like Jesus was a hero that died for those who deserve to live
It’s Easter Sunday and I own my mistakes because I am convinced God is good
But Monday is coming and I will try to cover up my mistakes and plead my case with others so they will be convinced I am good
It’s Easter Sunday and I rejoice in the wisdom of the cross and Christ’s obedience to it
But, Monday is coming and the cross will look foolish to me and I will have no desire to share in it’s sufferings
It’s Easter Sunday and I would die to save others
But, Monday is coming and I will live to condemn others
It’s Easter Sunday and I pursue Christ in downward mobility in order that God might raise me up
But, Monday is coming and I will pursue my own dreams of upward mobility only to fall in defeat
It’s Sunday and we celebrate the event of Jesus’ resurrection
And Monday’s coming when we get to live in the truth of Grace and new life of the resurrection!
