For many in the religious world, among those who profess to be Christians, there will be celebrations of joy and shouts of victory, beginning at sunrise, in memory of the risen Christ. Many of these same individuals will then proceed to engage in worship under names that the Lord would not approve of, doing things that the Lord Jesus would not condone as they are not found in the word that has been left for us. As we reflect on the first day of the week, which by the way happens every week, we remember the death burial and resurrection of Christ each and every week. Sometimes there are those who are surprised when I answer that we celebrate this every week and not just on Easter. How is it that even we as New Testament Christians, reminding ourselves of Christ's sacrifice on a regular basis, can sometimes allow things to slip, allow ourselves to do things that we should not out of weakness, or, neglect things because we just simply do not have the concern that we should for the Lord's affairs.
On one occasion, as Christ entered a village on his way to Jerusalem, he encountered ten men who were lepers. The men cried out for mercy from the Lord and as they went on their way they were healed of their disease. Interestingly, however, only one of the men returned to express his thanks to Christ, and he was a Samaritan. (Luke 17.11-16). In response tot his Christ stated, "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." (Luke 17.17-19). We can learn a lot about life from this story.
First, when we realize that we are not Christians, or as Christians, realize that we have sinned, we come to a point when we understand that only God can save us, and then only through Christ. We obey the Gospel, or repent and go to God in prayer and then have the relief of forgiveness as God has promised. As we go on our way, we become conscious of the benefits on being cleansed. Unfortunately we may not fully appreciate the gift that we have been given.
We may not appreciate this because we no longer feel the terror of being lost. Life is back on track and we may settle into complacence. We do not reflect on the fact that it took the death of the savior to accomplish that forgiveness. We do not appreciate that fact that we all helped kill him. It feels good to go on thinking that we are cleansed from our unrighteousness, but we need to appreciate the fact that it took death to bring this about.
On the first day of the week, we reflect on that gift that we have been given. It is a time to reflect on the fact that we helped to kill Christ, and continue to do so when we sin. It is a time to remember that God desired to save us so much that He was willing to allow his sinless son to be murdered for the sake of saving a few out of the insensitive masses. The first day of the week is a time to reflect on the terror of loss, of eternal torment without the sacrifice of Christ. The first day of the week is a time to take a personal inventory of where we are as Christians and to remember what we owe for the life that God has given us through Christ. We stood condemned to death were it not for the love of the savior and yet we want to be able to dictate terms to the Lord. That is not appreciation.
TLC