Christians have celebrated two thousand or so years of “Holy” weeks since Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem accompanied by thousands of followers singing hosannas to God for His salvation just days before being crucified as a criminal. Popularity has always swung like a pendulum in an earthquake during a hurricane. Bless the hearts of those who are slaves to mankind’s erratic and fickle thoughts and ways.
And yet, in the midst of mankind’s continuing inhumanity to man, hundreds of millions of believers in every nation and every language celebrate the Savior year after year, one of few constants mankind has witnessed continually from millennium to millennium.
The message is repeated year after year and day after day: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” (Psalm 118:8, middle verse in the Bible.) Those who truly trust the Lord enjoy His peace even in the midst of wild and extreme allegations and corruption that appear to threaten the very existence of life on earth.
You may have seen trivia about the most dangerous animals on earth. Feral cats and mosquitoes are among the most deadly animals. Nevertheless, humans kill more than the most deadly animals. We have brought these troubles on our own heads. Regarding human relationships, “they” are always the main culprits who wreak havoc around the world. No one can ever unite “us” with “them.”
I’ve often joked with my students about how smart dogs are. I can take my dog to anywhere on earth, and she knows the language of dogs in every nation. Humans? Not so much. We are driven to make other humans more like “us,” because “we” are right and whatever “they” do or think differently is patently wrong … not just different, but wrong.
Granted, some among us have worked diligently to breed tolerance between those groups who think and act differently. That’s noble work even if it is unreasonable considering the history of humankind. Some call on all to celebrate our differences, even when those differences are literally and rationally irreconcilable. History teaches us that at our very best “we” should tolerate all of “them.”
Jesus said He came to reconcile us to God. The crux of the problem between humans disagreeing with each other is we can’t agree on one central authority of right and wrong. If we could all agree with one sovereign authority, we could all celebrate that authority and acknowledge our differences are manmade corruptions against that only sovereign authority.
Humankind’s disagreements with God have always separated us from having a relationship with Him. He’s always right, you know! Jesus said He would redeem us from all our disagreements with God so we could live together in perfect agreement forever. Jesus died to pay for all our disagreements with God, and rose from the dead to prove that His death was 100 percent effective, opening the way for any of us to enjoy perfect fellowship with God.
No mere human could have accomplished this reconciliation. Jesus never claimed to be mere human, but to be 100 percent human through His mother Mary, and 100 percent God through His Father. Wow! Now, that’s unique!
Resurrection Sunday, April 1, believers will once again celebrate the unique oneness and perfect unity Jesus provided for any who believe Him.
That’s good news!
