"standing at a distance"

Luke 23:49 "And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee, were standing at a distance seeing these things." (the Crucifixion)

Jesus' death on the cross was a spectacle. It was a circus of sorts with the crowd who had whipped up this fury looking on in delight......looking at the death of this man who had done no wrong. The man of whom Pilate had said......Luke 23:4 "I find no guilt."

Finally, they said, we have dealt with this man who calls Himself the Son of God. He will no longer be a threat to us. He is dead.

They truly did not know what they were doing.....they did not know that they were fulfilling the plan of God for the salvation of mankind. They were merely pawns in God's hands to be used by Him to bring about His will on this earth.

There was another small group of people looking on though........people who had known Him, traveled with Him, and ministered to Him. People who loved Him, who were grief stricken, who were devastated by what had just happened before their eyes, who really didn't understand.

That could be us here on the earth some 2000 years later....."looking on at a distance."

We know it is Easter, the time of year when Christians celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We read the biblical account in the New Testament. We hear the same proclaimed from the pulpits of our churches, we look on all of this from a distance and we wonder.

All of this truth, though, seems to have gotten muddled up with bunnies and candy and new clothes. We "stand at a distance" seeing what God has done and somehow it becomes just another holiday.

The small group of people standing at a distance looking on the crucifiction saw it in the here and now.

We have the advantange, because of the Bible, of seeing the whole picture, of knowing that this was God's plan of salvation being carried out. We know from a distance that these events were the turning point in history. The Bible from Genesis to Revelation tells the whole plan of God concerning Jesus.

Let's not merely look on these events from a distance. Ask God to make "these things" matter in your heart, down deep where it makes a difference. Let's worship His amazing grace to us "in spirit and in truth."

PS Those of you who know me, know that I love spring, real bunnies, flowers, chocolate bunnies, easter egg hunts, and all of the trappings of same.

My home is decorated for the party tomorrow with all of the things that I love. We will join together in fellowship and have great fun......but in my heart I know that Easter is not about any of these thing.

Easter is about the love of God to those who believe. It is amazing what He has done for us and for those who will believe in the future.

"Praise Him from whom all blessing flow!"