Stacey D. Wheeler | EFC-MAYM Director of Communications and Church Planting Support
On January 1st, our youngest daughter Audrey and her husband, Ben, along with their three boys moved to Salem, Oregon where Ben became the lead pastor at Rosedale Friends Church. Tony, our oldest son Isaac, and I traveled with them to help them move, and before we left to fly home, I told all three boys at different times, “We will be able to talk to you through FaceTime, and I will send you packages so we can stay connected until we can be together again.”
On our first FaceTime call, our oldest grandson, Judah, 6, asked me “Gigi, you said you were going to send us presents!” I explained to him that I would send him packages around the holidays, and Valentine’s Day was the first holiday coming up, so he could be watching for a package.
I began to gather sticker books, Legos, crafts, and candy and bought each of the boys a matching button-down dress shirt with plaid stripes, shirts full of the color red, to ship to them. I was also sending a few odds and ends for Audrey, so the box was big and weighed 28 pounds!
Fast forward to February 7th when we were visiting our middle daughter, Adele, and our son-in-law, Shane, and their family in Indiana. Shane had asked us to come minister at Sparrow Heights Church, their church in Muncie, Indiana, a Friends church plant through Indiana Yearly Meeting. I had brought the Valentine’s Day care package with us and mailed it from Muncie that day. I wanted to make sure and give it plenty of time to arrive for Valentine’s Day. I was told it would travel by ground and would take about 4 days. Perfect! This would ensure it arrived by the 14th. This was the first package I was sending, and Judah was waiting for his presents! I didn’t want to disappoint him.
As you know, a snowstorm struck half of the country during this time, and the package that started in Muncie, Indiana traveled through Chicago, Illinois to Aurora, Colorado (I found out later). I called Audrey and asked if she had received the package yet. The answer was no. Maybe the storm stopped it? February 14th came and went, and there was no package delivered. I was greatly disappointed.
I waited another week and asked her again if the package had arrived. No, it hadn’t. I remembered that I could track the package if I could find the receipt. Thankfully, I found it and started tracking it. By February 25th, I could see it had finally arrived in Oregon and had traveled through Portland to Salem. I called several of the post offices in Salem but was told it had been returned to sender because of a wrong address. What?! After texting Audrey I realized I had somehow inverted the first two numbers of the address. Oy vey!
At the first available opportunity, I called the USPS and after sitting on hold for 30 minutes talked to a woman who told me the package was already back in Portland. Some good news! My package qualified for package interception. It cost $44.00 to intercept the package and turn it around. At this point, if I waited for it to be returned to us and mailed it again, it was going to cost a lot more, so I paid it. On February 28th I checked the tracking for the package only to see that it is at the distribution center in Des Moines, Iowa! My Valentine’s Day package is becoming a St. Patrick’s Day package, as it will be that late!
Why am I telling you this story? Because lately I’ve been pondering the incredible present Christ delivered to us thousands of years ago when he died on the cross and three days later rose from the dead. The present he gave was the best gift I’ve ever received. It was delivered through incredible sacrifice, delivered on time, and delivered with overwhelming love. The red in the blood of Christ that would have run down his face from the crown of thorns and the red in the blood from his pierced side and from the lashes on his back and the nails in his hands and feet, all point to the incredible love he has for us. Every drop of blood says, “I love you.”
On April 20th we will celebrate Easter. Easter is arguably the most important holiday we will celebrate as believers in Christ. Without Christ’s death and resurrection, what hope do we have for peace, joy, or victory in this life? What hope do we have for eternity? We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Through faith in Christ and his death and resurrection, we can go to the throne of grace and know that his blood covers our sins. We have sinned, but Jesus gives mercy and grace in exchange for our mistakes. Hebrews 4:16 reminds us, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
No matter how much I desired for Judah to receive my package for Valentine’s Day, I could not get it to him, even though I thought I mailed it to the correct address, and I thought I mailed it on time. I made mistakes! My intentions were good. My execution was bad. I love Ben, Audrey, Judah, Jedidiah, and Jireh deeply, but I could not get that Valentine’s Day package to them on time. I’m so thankful that we serve an almighty God who is perfect and good. His love for us never fails. His grace always arrives right on time, when we need it and approach his throne of grace, we go to him to receive it. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is always right. We serve a LIVING Christ who is interceding for us, comforting us, and encouraging us. We have an eternal home to look forward to in heaven. Our many mistakes and sins are covered! This is a reason to celebrate Easter!
Picture yourself in a courtroom with Satan as the prosecutor. The enemy of our souls makes an accusation against us as “the accuser,” and in fact the name Satan means “accuser” in Hebrew. The Bible states that Satan accuses us before God, day and night (Rev. 12:10), and we know that some of his accusations are true. We have lied, envied, been angry, stolen, dishonored our parents, committed adultery and lusted, been prideful, gluttonous and greedy. Scripture declares “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
Yet we also know that Satan is called “the father of lies,” so we know that many of his accusations are false: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn. 8:44). Revelation 20:10 depicts the great and final judgement of our enemy, Satan: “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
As we stand in the courtroom, accused by the enemy, there is hope! And this is why Easter occupies such a holy place in our hearts and is celebrated and honored in our traditions at church and in our families: Christ, as the holy Son of the ultimate Judge, God, has already paid the price for our sins IN FULL. He is our mediator who has brought us peace when we deserved prison, brought us a testimony when we were tested, and brought us compassion when we deserved condemnation. According to 1 Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” When we stand in the ultimate courtroom at the end of our lives, and the books are opened, we have a special favor with the Judge who looks at us and sees his only son, Jesus! Isaiah 53:4-12 shows us Jesus already paid the price for our sins when he died on the cross:
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
When we stand before God, our ultimate Judge, and he is ready to hand down the sentence and penalty for our failures in life, we will watch Jesus turn to his loving and gracious Father and say powerful words:
“I know this one. I died for him and rose again and overcame death and hell for this one. I’ve forgiven this one who has put faith in me and accepted my crucifixion and sacrifice on his or her behalf. I say, NOT GUILTY.”
Not because of good acts. Not because we went to church. Not because we follow a set of rules. But because Jesus took the place for us and pardoned our many sins and mistakes so our sins could be as white as snow in order for a righteous and holy God to look upon his righteous children and pardon them. As John 19:30 states, “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
When we ask Jesus to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, he does! God gave us the ultimate Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Easter gift: We deserved death, but instead were given everlasting life! As Romans 6:23 declares, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Easter brings joy because as 1 John 1:9 shows us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” During your Easter preparations and celebrations may you reflect on the power of those words: “It is finished.”
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