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Easter 24/7
Jon Burgess1And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:2
The Apostle Paul was as well studied and intellectally knowledgable as they come. It would have been easy for him to jump in with the favorite activity in Corinth- hearing the sound of their own voice. The latest philosophies and popular teachings were literally the talk of the town. Paul could have bested them all with pompous arguments and intellecutal reasonings. Paul wasn't going to do this though because this kind of talk wouldn't change anything or anyone. He saw that the only thing worth talking about was who Jesus was and what Jesus did.
I realized again through Paul's declaration to the Church in Corinth that simple is not the same as simplistic. We are all called to give a simple presentation of Jesus Christ to the world around us in creative ways. A simple presentation does not reduce the power of what Christ did. Quite the opposite, it actually keeps the message of Christ and the Cross in a laser like focus. A laser can make a clean cut while diffused light can simply illuminate what needs to be cut. Paul decided to not get caught up in the latest but to focus on what lasts. As God's people in the 21st Century we must choose the same. Will we be caught up in the latest pop cultural controversy or caught up in the power of the Cross of Christ? Will we get caught up in arguing over the latest news or stay consumed with the lasting news, the Good News of Jesus Christ? Some would say we will lose our relvancy if we don't speak to what's going on around us. I would say the best possible way to speak to what's going on around us from the place of freedom through Christ working inside us and through us. It's not about eloquence its about eternity. It's not about sounding like the smartest person in the room but rather about inviting Christ into the room. What's Jesus saying and doing in this situation? Whateve He's up to it's going to be simple and powerful and exactly what the people need to hear. What does it look like to live out "only Jesus Christ and Him crucified'? It looks like living out the message of Easter Weekend every single day. It looks like Easter 24/7, 365. Author and Pastor AJ Swaboda puts it this way in his book "A Glorious Dark": "Christianity works precisley because death didn't. I write this because I've come to beleive that there truly is abundant life in Jesus. However, this life isn't found on Sunday alone. Life is found in all three days- pain and death on Friday, doubt on Saturday, and resurrection on Sunday. To follow Jesus as we're created to is to simaltaneously enter the whole weekend."
Thank You Lord for this timely reminder to keep the main thing the main thing. I pray that this focus on what You have done for us on the Cross and what You conquered through Your sacrifice and resurrection would never become something of an afterthought. I want your who You are and what You have done to be the filter for all my interactions and intercessions. I want people to hear the simple truth of the Gospel and not fancy words from me.
