Resuscitating Our Kids:#3 Teaching Gratefulness

Teaching Gratefulness

If you have ever heard me speak about children before, then you already know that this Blog title is bogus.  Why?  Because I have said for years that gratefulness cannot be taught, it has to be experienced.

I heard a story some time ago about a woman who was looking for legal help in getting her 24-year-old daughter out of her house.  She loved her child but realized that she was not doing anything to better her life and, in fact, was bringing drama to parent’s life.  She lived in a room where she wouldn’t clean anything. Under her bed were leftover food and dirty clothes.  She had no goals and when asked to get up and help around the house, she simply said, “I didn’t ask to be born, you brought me here… you handle it.”  We live in a world where many have been bombarded with a ‘spirit of entitlement’.  

You may ask ... “How do we deal with the ‘spirit of entitlement’ with our kids?”  Well, one of the best ways to battle entitlement is with gratefulness.  We somehow have to let our kids know what it is to be grateful.  The only problem is gratefulness is not what you do, it is a state of being.  It can’t be taught so how do we get our kids to experience it?

Some ways we do this is by:

• ·      Not giving them everything they ask for
• ·      Allowing them to work towards goals for things they want
• ·      Teach them the value of work and money
• ·      Open a savings account and have them keep track of it
• ·      Have them participate in volunteer work
• ·      Visit places where others are hurting or lack basic needs
• ·      Help them count their blessings:  Remind them of what they enjoy daily

 Years ago, we took children on an outing with our Nursing Home ministry.  Not only did we give them the speech about respecting the resident’s property we made them aware of the smells, and sights that might not be the best.  But we also let them know that some of the residents were parents and grandparents who may not get a visit from their families very often.

It was amazing to see how the hearts of those children were touched.  The kids were respectful, never complained about the various aromas, they were kind and soft spoken during our visit. Being able to go home to a warm house and sit with family meant more to them that night.

Gratefulness is not learned, it is experienced.  It comes from seeing life when it is less than desirable, then looking at yourself.  When you see how your life COULD have been and realize that it isn’t that, It helps to generate gratefulness. 

This season, remind your kids about all those who don’t have what they do. It might be simple things like family or a roof, food on the table or perhaps even the gifts.  Gratefulness is one of the best ways to battle entitlement.  Let’s try to be more grateful and help our children be the same. 

Resuscitating Our Kids in a Dying World 2

#2 LOVE

 Another function that sustains life for our children is LOVE.

The movie starred an animated princess thrown into a natural world, the real world and she landed in (of all places)... New York!  She was confused about her surroundings, but she relentlessly kept looking for her true love, she knew he was near and looking for her.   Even though people around her were rude, rushing around and didn't seem to notice her, her response to them was still loving and kind.  


Before being caught in a rain storm, she had her tiara stolen from a vagrant with really bad teeth and the harshest thing she could yell at him was “You are not a very nice old man!”  At one point in her frustration, she told her rescuer about the difficult time she was having and he sarcastically smiled and said, “Welcome to New York.”  Without a blink, she smiled and responded, “Why, thank you!”  He didn’t believe in love, but she did and in her attempt to help him with his relationship problems, she broke out into song and began singing, “How does she know you love her?”

We love fairy tales from Disney's "Enchanted", but this is not what our children see everyday. 

When we look at the world today, we hear about so many parents that abuse and hurt their children.  So many kids act out in anger because that is what they know. What they see today is not love.  People who want someone or something so bad they will kill to get it.   How will a young child who is born into a family where someone has died or been hurt in a bad relationship ever trust that love is safe or real?

A child in the line at a grocery store is not caring what political affiliation you are when they peer at you over their parent’s shoulder.  A smaller baby may look at you strangely, but mainly because you are a new face to them. They may be curious, slightly timid, but when the smile covers their face, they are not wondering about your background, race or what neighborhood you live in.  Children are born into so many different environments, but they come out ready and willing to love. The problem is how we pass on our own hatefulness to our children as they listen to what we say about others. 

Our children need and deserve a lifeline of love, we have to do better at allowing our kids to see love so they can love.  Especially since God is love.  We have to do better at loving each other or our children have no example of it.  

How will they know you love them?

Not only should our kids see and experience love from their parents, they should have genuine love and guidance from those around them.  It still takes a village to raise a child.  Since we don’t have liberties that our grandparents had, we can’t openly hug or correct a child, but we can still genuinely care them.  Be there to support them as they grow.  Teach them, mentor them, challenge them, show them how to make good choices.  When we speak well of them, we remind them of purpose and God’s undying love for them!  More than anything else, to show our kids love, we have to be seen showing it to others. 

They know love based on what you do more than what you say.  

Resuscitating Our Kids in a Dying World

Death can be defined as the termination of functions that sustain life.

There are basic functions that have sustained us, without these functions, life can seem to lack meaning.   Since we know that life is found in God, this is the first of a series that talks about a few things we need to instill in our youth to resuscitate them. If we fail to turn this downward trend, we may lose the next generation.

#1 HOPE

As kids, we used to play all day long!  We would meet up with a couple of friends early in the morning and run through the neighborhood, jump fences, and ride bikes. Though our surroundings were familiar, every day our imaginations would send us to places far away.  We didn’t pay much attention to what tomorrow would bring… tomorrow would just come… and in a sense it would take care of itself.  Our parent’s joy was in sending us out of the house while they recouped energy we drained from them. Even if we got mad at our parents, and talked of running away, we were still back home before the streetlights came on.  That is not how things are for our kids today. Tomorrow can be a challenge to want to see.

A friend that no longer calls, a heart string that is no longer there, a group of kids that think teasing is funny. They are surrounded with temptations to join groups or gangs just to belong.  Parents that have financial or relational issues, too busy to notice a change in countenance.   Our kids are faced with situations that somehow they feel are insurmountable.  Why would a child bring a gun to school?  What happens that makes them think this is an actual way out?  Why would they take their life because of someone else’s opinion?  We can’t imagine the pain they must feel for life to seem to be so… hopeless.

 What would we really do without hope?  Hope keeps us looking towards tomorrow, towards something better, different something good.  Our kids are more suicidal than we ever were, and if we were and we lived past that horrible time, we learned that our challenges were survivable, the world is not perfect, but trouble does not last always!  Our kids need to know and understand that.  They need to know that the sufferings today cannot be compared to tomorrow.  Give your kids hope so they desire to stay here to see tomorrow.  

Real hope is found in God.   I wish I could pretend for those who don’t want to hear it.   But He is the one who makes tomorrow bearable, meaningful.  He is the one who will help us to see past today.  Faith in God is hard to describe to those who are not interested, but for the sake of our kids… point them to Him. He is a lifeline that this generation needs. 

1 Timothy 6:17-19 

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust (hope) in their money, which is so unreliable. Their hope should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.  Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this,  they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.                                 

BAD APPLES!

You may recall the phrase 

“One bad apple won’t spoil the whole bunch.”

Even though we may have heard that phrase, it doesn’t mean we believe it.   How many times have you seen someone throw away a bag of apples because one was bad?  Or a bag of potatoes, the smell alone will cause you to lose your appetite!  Strawberries?  We may walk past the whole section if just one has a little fuzz on top.

I have been there before, I can’t say I am not guilty of throwing away perfectly good fruit because of one bad part.  But there have been times that I remembered the ‘ONE BAD APPLE’ and acted on that phrase.  By taking the bad off the top and seeing that underneath there was unaffected fruit that is still good to the touch, taste and smell.  It is hard to imagine that somehow we can still benefit from the oranges underneath the bad that we can see. And we sometimes see a lot of bad.

ROTTEN EXAMPLES:

In the world today we can find a lot of bad fruit that hits close to home: 

·    Christians, whether laity or clergy that say and do things that make all of us look bad.  We get a bum rap because they decide (wrongfully using the name of Christ) to hurt others, ridicule unbelievers and basically go against God for their own cause.

·    Muslims that kill and cause chaos for those of the same faith who are actually peaceful family oriented people. 

·    Whether Black, White, Hispanic or Asian… we all know and have seen EVERY RACE of people do things that hurt our heart and our reputation. Whether it is a crime or racist actions or even comments that pretend to speak on behalf of an entire race.

·   Police officers who are sworn to protect and serve can turn as bad as those they are apprehending.

·   Disgruntled coworkers that go off and kill their fellow workers. It used to be that the best revenge was “living well” not dying in your own cloud of glory.

We have seen some really bad apples! 

But why do we assume that means the whole bunch is bad?

Last night I watched in horror as the news began reporting about the deputy that was ambushed and gunned down.  Some automatically thought, “He may have been one of the bad cops.”  Some never considered the time he has served, the family he has or the fact that no life should EVER end like that. The suspect had a ‘dark complexion’ which many already figured meant “black”.

A Little earlier, I read a post from a fellow Christian that was stopped by police on his way to church.  He was treated as though he was a criminal.  He allowed for a search because he knew 1) the car was his, and 2) he had no drugs or weapons. (And they asked even though it was only a traffic stop- one actually laughed a bit when he said he was headed to church)  Kind of scary to allow someone to search your car when you think they now have been given opportunity to leave something that was not yours, or the thought that if I decline and point out my rights, what will happen?

The bible tells us that evil will wax worse and worse.  We see that happening every day.  The world has no conscience anymore.  It is nothing to hurt an elderly person, a child or an infant.  Used to be a rule in prison that crimes against women and children were considered the worst.  But today, some of those women and children are the ones doing it.  When a person kills an entire family, children included… what can you think? The scary part is that when you hear the news, it further demonstrates that perhaps the whole bunch is bad.

THE VALUE OF LIFE - ALL LIVES MATTER!

Somehow we have lost something important when it comes to coexisting with each other.  We have lost the understanding of the value of life.  Some may believe it began when we allowed humans to be sold and bought as slaves, others may note our allowing unborn babies to be killed. Regardless to when you think it originated, the value of life is losing a battle to survive.

When we see people involved in road rage shootings just because someone beeped their horn at you.  People getting angry because someone you liked no longer wants to be with you.  So you choose to take them out and the new person they are with.  Not getting your way at work? Feeling overlooked for a promotion?  So you plot to kill someone, anyone that looks like your job.  Then there are the instances that even in a place of worship, you don’t entirely feel safe.  Whatever our issues in life, they are not worth taking a life.  Life is by far more valuable. Understanding that God and God alone has the right to take life, is a dying thought in itself.

We have somehow become selfish in determining whose life matters more. 

To the blacks, black lives matter.  To the police officer, police lives matter.  To the Hispanic, Hispanic lives matter.  To the homosexual, homosexual lives matter.  To the Caucasian, Caucasian lives matter.  To the Muslim, Muslim lives matter.  And so on……

But to GOD, all lives matter.  This is not political!  When Jesus died, He didn’t pick out a particular group to die for.  He died for all.  All lives matter.  Until each of us really gets out of ourselves and realize that one bad apple does not spoil the whole bunch, we will not care about anything else in the bunch.

SO WHEN WILL IT ALL END?

I’m sorry to let you know this if you didn’t know already, but ….NEVER.  At least not on this earth. 

So what good is it going to do for us to pray if it is not going to change? What hope do we have for tomorrow?

The gospel is good news is for everybody, but not everyone will receive it. Unless YOU and I decide to receive what God has said about all humanity, unless YOU and I choose to live and treat every person with the love and respect that God requires, unless we determine that people are more precious than possessions or position, we will never see the difference in our lifetime.

I choose to treat all people well. 

Does that mean they will give me the same benefit of the belief?  NO it doesn’t.  But I am not judged by God based on how others treat me, I am judged by God based on how I treat others.  

I refuse to let One Bad Apple stop me from enjoying the God given benefits of the good ones. 

Fathers We Honor You!

 

Fathers 

Hard to live with them, hard to live without them.

The role of a father is one of the most meaningful relationships you will ever have.

For boys, you can learn how to be a man and how to treat women.  Good or bad, you will learn from him.  You can spend your life trying to please him, or you can find solace in knowing he is proud of you.  He will be  your toughest critic and your biggest supporter.

For girls, your identity and self-worth can be curled up in your relationship with your father.  You will determine the type of man you will marry (or try to avoid) based on your father.  Even when he was not the best, you may by default land someone with many of his attributes.  He will be the first man you ever love.

We are quick to talk about the deadbeat dad, the absent father or the one who spends way too much time working and not enough bonding.  The one who is emotionally vacant or has very little to say.

We have seen enough bad father examples.  Sometimes we have to be grateful for all the men that  do rise up in the face of criticism and are there for their families.

 This Father’s Day~ We Honor You!

We honor today, all the fathers who are present, those who rise up and do their job well. 

We honor the man who tries to stand in for a kid that needs a little guidance. 

We honor fathers that step into a home with kids that are not his and treats them as if they were.

We honor fathers that don’t mind cooking or cleaning, changing a diaper or two.

We honor fathers that take responsibility for their households, whether they understand how to do everything or not, they still find a way.

For every father that has been criticized and broken because of a reputation he didn’t build, we honor you.

For trying to listen when you really just want to fix the issues and go on, thanks for the effort.

For really loving your children and wife, even when things were not the best.  But you have stayed there.

We honor you for getting back up every time you fall, knowing that you may.

We honor every father that tries hard to hear from God in the midst of so many voices, you may not always make the best choices, but at least you are still trying.

We honor you for being “a man” when your heart hurts as much as everyone else’s.

We honor you for feeling the hurt when you can’t fix everything for us, because that means you would if you could.

Mainly, we honor you for taking on one of the most difficult jobs given to you by God, which is to lead and guide an entire family, with various personalities and present them to Him- not in His absence but with his guidance.  Today we honor you for allowing His best in you!

Happy Father’s Day!  

We’ve Been Played!

 

INSIDE JOKE!!

 

I remember as a kid, we loved playing harmless jokes on our friends and family.  One time in Germany, my sister and I were staying at a friend’s house during the snowy season.  It was absolutely beautiful! The snow completely covered the ground, you could step in it and it would go almost to your knees!  Being from Texas, it was cool to see so much snow while standing in a warm house.  

We opened the front door to get the fresh feel of cool air in our face.  Suddenly I said “Ooh, let’s run out barefoot in the snow, touch the fence and come back!”  I already knew what I had in mind, but to gather their confidence, I also said, “I’ll go first!”  So I slipped my shoes off and ran out into the snow!

Though the crunchy coldness was exhilarating and different, it was not compared to what I had in mind.  I went the few feet to the fence, touched it and quickly ran back in the house, dancing and shrieking about how neat if felt.  Now they were ready to do the same.  They slipped off their shoes, and ran towards the fence in the snow…

BAM!  I closed the door.

CLICK.  I locked it.

Perfectly executed.  I could see their images through the bubble glass on the front door.  They were jumping, laughing and screaming all at the same time.  I didn’t leave them outside too long, since I always keep the thought of ‘what if it was me?’ in the back of my mind.  So I let them in and we had a serious laugh as we dried our feet and continued our evening. 

 A favorite joke of mine was always the simple tap on the shoulder of someone near me.  I tap opposite of where I am, causing someone to look the other way.  Sometimes they would turn back to me, knowing I was the only one there and we would have a harmless laugh.  Other times, some unsuspecting bystander would get a weird look from my target.  It would take a little longer for them to realize it was me and not the unassuming stranger.  I am much better now with age, but at one time, I had it bad.   Always the jokester, but always harmless.

WE’VE BEEN PLAYED.

It is not a good feeling to be played.  Especially by someone who means you no good.   Let’s get to the point.  My friend, we are being played.  The enemy –Satan has been playing us for quite a while now.  You would think with all the word we have available to us today, and the spiritual awareness, we would know his works.     

 Somehow the devil has made us believe that we are each other’s enemy, not him.  He keeps tapping us on our shoulder and has us to look at each other as if we are ready to fight.  While all along, he sits in the darkness hidden. We on the other hand are in the open taking blows at each other. 

2 Corinthian 2:11

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

 

WE’VE BEEN PLAYED.

 
Crime and ignorance is not determined by race.

All of us have someone in our race that we wish was not there. Someone who takes matters in their own hands or says something, does something or simply opens their mouth as if they speak for all of us.  We wish they didn’t share our skin color because somehow we get the look after being tapped. 

This is not just a black thing, it is a people thing, it affects every race.   Whether it is young people who shoot up a school and kill classmates, a military man who shoots up a base, a man who takes 3 young ladies hostage for a decade, a group of young teens that smash and grab, a man who crashes a plane into a mountain, a drive by shooting, a child rapist or someone who steals identity by hacking stores.  It is even seen with a group of terrorists that behead people basically for sport or to make a point.

Every culture has someone that we wish didn’t look like they were part of us or representing us. If you are a person who has worked hard for what you have and are not looking for handouts, or if you know the sacrifice others have made to give you freedoms and you try to treat people right, regardless to your upbringing;  you don’t want your reputation in someone else’s hand.  Especially not someone motivated by the devil.

Yet somehow, the enemy has caused us to look at each other instead of him.  We see the riots in various cities and the peaceful protesters are not seen. Officers who have made deadly choices overshadow those who risk their lives every day truly protecting their community.  Every day we hear the news. No matter where you hear it, who you see deliver it or even if it is a simple conversation at work or a post on social media, we have opinions based not on the fact that we have allowed the world to run amuck all in the name of tolerance and freedom, but based on the last thing that we saw in the news that clouded our perspective.

BUT WE’VE BEEN PLAYED.

When we hear the news of a young man that shoots and kills a couple, their son and a housekeeper some look at an entire race instead of looking at the real enemy.  Our nation is once again looking at each other as if an entire race tapped their shoulder.

Now we have in our news a church that was shot up by a young man with issues provoked by Satan.  Instead of realizing he made a choice separate from most Americans, we are ready again to look into the face of an unassuming stranger as if it was them that tapped our shoulder. 

 There is a member at my church who has picked up on my “joke”, so now he taps my shoulder on occasion, but because I know he is nearby, I don’t turn around.  I can often turn towards him as he walks away.  The game doesn't work when you know who is around.    Hopefully as a nation especially the church, we will remember our enemy is standing in the darkness and we will not turn on each other. 

Hopefully we will open our eyes and realize it is not as simply as black and white……

We’ve been played.

Mother's Day Without Mom

What a great occasion to celebrate the woman 

God used to give us life!

Many of us are running, visiting, flying and purchasing various tokens to ensure that the woman we love and respect will be honored this Mother’s Day.  And we should!  For the nine months she carried you... NO CHARGE!

But what about when the memory is not the best? Or worse yet, they are no longer here...  How do we acknowledge Mother’s Day?

 

NOT THE BEST: First, let’s be honest.  Not all of us have wonderful memories or stories to tell.  Some may still not know where mom is or may have questions about why she was not there to give the care and love that it looks like everyone else is celebrating.  And if she was there, we may still be secretly wishing she hadn’t been.  There could have been abuse and hurtful situations that we are still trying to overcome.  Maybe our life would have been better if someone else was more involved than she was.  Then there is the bible verse that tells us to honor our mother and father….

In these instances, I often encourage people to give honor where honor is due.  God is not expecting us to lie.  If someone was not there, abuse was the norm or other situations happened that were less than honorable, honor them because God used them to get you here.  Sometimes situations happen and people make choices that may have nothing to do with you.  Their own pain or dysfunction might cause them to be less than God intended and their inability to admit they need or find true help, may leave them exactly where they were.  Not your fault, you were just there.  Don't focus on the negative that you can't change, don't let it consume your mind or conversations.  Instead thank God for at least being here, that you were not the product of abortion, which means that God’s purpose is still alive in you!  Be open to or find mentors and people for your life that can fill the gaps.   If you know a child that is in a similar situation, be there for them.  Be what you needed and God will give you what you missed.

MY MOM IS NOT HERE:  Then there is the difficulty during Mother’s Day when mom is no longer here.  How can you really celebrate with others when your heart is so broken?  I can tell you to follow the bible and rejoice with those that rejoice… and that would be scriptural and all, but let me tell you what I did the first few years after my mother passed:

I found someone to honor in her name.  The first year it was difficult, there was not another woman I could see that I thought was ‘worthy’ of honoring in her name.  Sad to say, but true.  So the first year I purchased flowers for a mom I didn’t even know, my new neighbor’s mother.  She was so excited and appreciative that it kind of threw me.  The next year was easier, almost like paying if forward.  Looking for a mother to honor and bless made me notice the great attributes in others that I always saw in my mother. 

That helped me for the first years, then I found if I really wanted to honor my mother, I have to live well.  I should have the attributes that she had (the good ones) evident in my life.  I become the legacy of her name, her values and her teaching in our home.  If I really want to honor her, I should fulfill my purpose like she did.   So I put things in place to handle my children well, my finances, my household and my job.  All the things I saw in my mother should now live in me. 

 The bible says “The memory of the just is blessed” Proverbs 10:7 

Many times we think that has to do with our actual memory as in our ability to recall things, but if you read through it is dealing with how people recall YOU. ..If you are just.  So it is good to recall a mother that has served God and her family well.  Her memory should be a blessing. 

 

 

So now when Mother’s Day approaches, I see it three fold.  I celebrate joyfully this life I have and the great purpose that is in front of me.  I celebrate this opportunity to acknowledge the great mother that I had who taught me things that I am still implementing in my life.  And I celebrate the great mother that I have the ability to be to my children and others in my life… all because of God's grace and because He gave me her.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Enjoy Yourself!

I was simply talking with an old friend and in the middle of the conversation, they broke out into an uncontrollable laugh at something.  Not something I said, but something they said. Normally this takes me a while to get used to.  If you are telling the joke, you should have already gotten some of the laughs out of your system so we can enjoy the punch line.  But this was not that kind of laugh.  There was no joke, and no punch line, they were really ‘enjoying themselves’…. not at my expense, just enjoying themselves in our conversation.

My friend was not concerned about me at all.  If fact, the more I questioned how much they were enjoying their own conversation, the harder they laughed!  I finally said, “You are really enjoying yourself, aren't you?"    They looked at me and said “Yes, yes I am!”  NO shame at all… just fun! 


As usual, this made me think.  How much of our life’s joy depends on the responses of others?  We are social people, so we love having good times with others, but how often do we wait to see who likes a post before we do?  How many times do we look around the room to see if anyone else is enjoying the preacher’s teaching as much as we are?  Maybe, just a simple movie that you really got a kick out of and almost didn’t go to because you heard it was not that good? 

What I got out of that simple encounter was this….If I don’t enjoy myself, I won’t really enjoy anyone else to the extent I could.  If I don’t enjoy my own company, no one else will make my time worth it.  If I don’t enjoy my own personal jokes, why wait for someone else to laugh?  If I don’t love ME… why expect others to?

Matthew 22:39 says 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

After that conversation, I made a commitment to ME.  I am going to enjoy myself; enjoy my life, enjoy my purpose, enjoy being a Christian and enjoy the great people God allows me to encounter!  I don’t have to wait for anyone to get on board.  No waiting to see if you are compatible with me, I am compatible with me.  My purpose is compatible with me. Everyone else gets to see me enjoying this wonderful life God has blessed me with! 

So I encourage you today, remember you only have one life to live on this earth.  You are your own best or worst ~constant company.  Make a commitment to yourself that regardless to what this world throws at you or who is on your side or not,   come rain or shine,

Enjoy Yourself!  

Jesus Death and Resurrection: Payment and Proof

Think about it… we were sinners.  

Death was the only payment for sin. 

Someone had to die.

By all fairness and justice, it should have been us. 

The ones who sinned. 

Not an innocent man. 

God.

During this time of year, we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

Yes, celebrate death which paid for our sins, but why is the resurrection so important? 

What does it have to do with payment for our sins? 

Well, actually... Nothing.

Based on scripture, without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.  Since Jesus shed His blood for us, in death, our sins were taken care of, right?  

So what is the big deal about Resurrection?

I read just the other day about another man who was released after serving many years for a crime that now they realize he didn’t commit. That is not the first time, and it won’t be the last.   When I look at the stories telling of their fight to prove their innocence and the small group of people that believed in them, I always wondered; when you finally win, finally convince someone of your innocence, how do you could come back from that?

Our judicial system has really made some serious mistakes.  The kind you can't take back. 

How do you really feel free when you have lost so much that you will never get back?  You are behind in life, behind in the times, and behind in how people will view you. Loved ones have grown older, children now have children and no amount of money can ever give that back to you.  And if by chance you are one of the unfortunate ones that have been convicted and are executed wrongfully, well…. they may never really admit it.  Money to your family is not enough.

You can never give someone back their life.  Or can you?

The soul that sins, it should die.

Here we see Jesus, the Son of God who died not because of His own sin, but because of ours.  He was wrongfully crucified and killed.*  God knew He was innocent but allowed Him to die anyway because of the actual sin that was placed on Him.  Then as only God can do, after the penalty of sin was paid… God gave Him back His life!  He gave it back because it was unlawful to take the life of an innocent man. 

What we celebrate in resurrection is the fact that God gave Jesus back His life because He was not the one that sinned. Resurrection proves that Jesus was innocent, it proved that He was really a lamb without spot or blemish.  He was a sacrifice that could be slain on our behalf.  If Jesus would have stayed in the tomb, it would have meant or looked like He paid for His own sin; that He was legally guilty before God who is the Ultimate Judge.  Unlike our judicial system that cannot give you back what you lose after being wrongly accused, God can and God did.

When Jesus rose from the dead He did it with a great penalty already paid.  His outstanding payment was now open to be transferred to someone who actually needed it.  He chose me, you and anyone else who will receive it by faith.

So this resurrection and every day, I celebrate Jesus.  I celebrate His death, burial and yes especially resurrection.  I have a right by faith to accept the payment that was already made for me.  And you have the opportunity to accept it too.  Yes, His death was the payment, but His resurrection was the proof.

As a side note: Realize God will never let you take a hit for someone else and not bless you and them in the midst of it all.   He is able to touch those that you are called to sacrifice for, but He will also restore life to you at the same time.  That is the kind of God we serve!

*He willingly laid His life down for us!