Saturday, April 15, 2006

He is Risen!

“Holy Week” can add a lot of extra work for a pastor. Beyond the "regular" Bible studies, counseling, administrative work, and visitation, there’s the Maundy Thursday service, Good Friday commemoration, and Sunrise Service on Sunday. Then there are the regular Sunday services. That’s a lot of extra preparation. But what a glorious time! What a great subject upon which to labor! He is Risen!

We live in a complex society. We have computers and other electronic devices we cannot understand or utilize fully. We have laws (especially tax laws) that we can neither understand nor read. There are a lot more frightening medical decisions for us to have to make than there were just a few years ago.

Not too many years ago a book titled Megatrends (by John Naisbett) stated that we live in an “information society.” He meant that we have a lack of physical production – our products are invisible. These thoughts were not common at that time. This was something of a revelation. There have been two revisions to that book. The basic premise remains the same, however. Naisbett stated that what society needs is something called “high tech/high touch.”

In other words, everything is so complex that we need to be more aware of simple things: relationships, nature, human potential. This is one way, Naisbett affirms, in which we can cope with the highly technological nature of our world today. Others have simply suggested that we might stop on accasion and "smell the roses"

The Bible has another manner by which we can cope with societal change. One thing which has remained simple and has never needed to be detechnologized is the simple offer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ died and rose again from the dead in order that God the Father’s sense of justice might be satisfied and that we might find favor in His eyes. Simply put, Jesus died for me and rose again from the dead so that I may live – eternally. That’s easy enough even for me to appreciate. And I do.

Thank you, God.

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