19Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
FREEEDUUM!
I feel a soul beat pounding the rhythm of this paradox.
I just read yet another fabulous novel by Davis Bunn called RARE EARTH.
Jesus sets us free and then says "choose" who you will serve. I can hear Bob Dylan saying "you gotta serve somebody" here. I can't deny the truth in that. But the little key that opens the big door is "choice". At the moment I chose Christ, I received freedom... to chose.
Before that moment, when I chose to accept Him, I was servant to the "whatevers" of my own making, or those of others. All my mistakes. All my abuses. All the shame stuff. But that list gets, literally, crossed out.
And now, Easter is coming! Easter isn't just about the empty tomb.
It's about the empty cross.
If Jesus didn't actually rise from the dead/cross, then the whole thing is a farce. (And the atheists are nodding sagely right here...)
If Jesus didn't actually rise from the dead/cross, then the whole thing is a farce. (And the atheists are nodding sagely right here...)
But why would that many people pretty much volunteer for martyrdom? If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, then he'd be a lost cause, right? Your instinct would scream, "Go hide!"
BUT Jesus appeared to quite a bucket load of folks after his resurrection.
Acts 1:3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Anyway, I'm no Bible scholar. It just seems to me that 40 days is plenty of time to prove it was really Him. Forty days and then he's taken up into the heavens - alive - and they all see it. No magicians, no dry ice, no video projections.
So I say, HAPPY FREEASTER!
BUT Jesus appeared to quite a bucket load of folks after his resurrection.
Acts 1:3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Anyway, I'm no Bible scholar. It just seems to me that 40 days is plenty of time to prove it was really Him. Forty days and then he's taken up into the heavens - alive - and they all see it. No magicians, no dry ice, no video projections.
So I say, HAPPY FREEASTER!
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