I like a good ending, one that belts out songs in my heart and dances in my head long after the book closes.
Because of this, sometimes I slide chunks of thin pages through my fingers and flip to the back of the book. I need to know the hero wins the girl, and the kid kicks the addiction. I want to hear good trumps evil and light blasts darkness. I skip part of the story because I like tidy resolutions.
It’s easy to want to jump to the back of our Savior’s story because today contains a lot of ugly.
We know the story so we shouldn’t be surprised that friends fall asleep, a kiss doesn’t always equal love, and public humiliation was actually part of The Plan.
I’ve heard all about the gruesome of today, and yet, every year it shocks me.
But it wasn’t the jeering crowd, the nails, or the blows of the soldiers that ended Jesus.
Nope, it was something much more powerful: His dedication to mankind.
Today I ask you to resist the urge of skipping ahead to the light of Sunday, and instead, I pray you take in the fullness of His story today.
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Linking with the Five Minute Friday crew, where you stop, drop, and write for five minutes flat. Today’s topic: light. Want a little inspiration? Clickity, click your little ‘ol self over and see what “light” means to others.
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28 comments:
I really loved this! Your words string together so eloquently! And a good word, to boot. :)
Have a most blessed Easter holiday! LOVD tidings, Lilly
I just got home from a Tenebrae service where candles (light) are snuffed out as scripture is read. We are left with the sensation of being in the tomb with Jesus. It is dark in there. I want to skip to the end, but will sit with the darkness this weekend and not skip. But it's HARD not to! Amy
as you know, i haven't taken the snowmen off my mantel yet. today, i will. and leave it blank until sunday....this is a great post, amy.
absolutely not a day to be skipped. and today i heard why not to skip the Saturday between Good Friday & Easter in our lives, either. hoping to get that posted tomorrow.
love & blessings to you this weekend, friend,
steph
Hi friend! I've been missing you but I've been missing everybody these days in the just-get-through-the-sickness-before-I-mad-pack-and-move-overseas phase that certainly everyone goes through;}
I loved this as I ALWAYS flip to the end--happy ending...so, this is so true about the Good Friday of the Cross. And your other Easter post is an all-time fav too:}
So thankful for you! Bless you always, always, always:}
I'm a flipper, mostly because I hate surprises. Today there isn't any surprises, just hard cold reality of what He did for me. I will stand at the foot of the cross today in awe and pain.
I'm a flipper, mostly because I hate surprises. Today there isn't any surprises, just hard cold reality of what He did for me. I will stand at the foot of the cross today in awe and pain.
I'm with you girl, today is a day that is so important because if we didn't have 'the cross' we wouldn't have His rising to celebrate. I know what you mean, it is always a surprise. I was reading it this morning and I don't know why I never caught that when the soldier that got his ear cut off, Jesus healed it, just like that, even when they were being mean to him. It sure isn't about our feelings is it? Have a memorable Good Friday!
Thank you for this beautifully written message, Amy. Today we have marked the inside of our hands with a red marker dot, along with our name as a reminder of what He did for us on Good Friday. The idea wasn't mine - it came from a post a few weeks ago on impressyourkids.org - and it keeps us from jumping ahead.
Have a blessed Easter weekend.
xoxo michele
Amy! Such a powerful reminder. Thank you for this!
Yep, I wanna skip all the uncomfortable ugly to get to the party. But I think most of tranformation happens in the dark places, and I do want to be changed. So I am feeling every bit of the heavy today and tomorrow and I'll skip happy to church on Sunday. Love your heart and words Amy. Thanks for your encouragement over at my place.
Yep, I wanna skip all the uncomfortable ugly to get to the party. But I think most of tranformation happens in the dark places, and I do want to be changed. So I am feeling every bit of the heavy today and tomorrow and I'll skip happy to church on Sunday. Love your heart and words Amy. Thanks for your encouragement over at my place.
I usually skip to the end, too. But this year the record seems stuck in this Good Friday groove. Thanks for letting me linger here...
Amy, I'm a page flipper and section skipper myself! Needed this reminder today to not miss out on the depth of the story.
Yes, this is sage and good, to take it all in today. Thank you Amy.
In awe of the best post I have read about this "good" day with all of its messy, not comfortable part...BUT the most important part was as you said,"His dedication to mankind." Thank you!
Thanks, that was lovely and how guilty I am of trying to rush the story to get to the end.
Oh, I love this, Amy! Thank you!
This was so beautiful and I needed to hear it. Thank you!
Amy, this is good. So good. A reminder to be present in today and soak in the hard, the broken, the death for how it teaches us to live.
Thank you.
I am a peeker. I look at the end of the story then go back and read the rest. bad of me.
But it certainly is good to know the end of the Easter story: Jesus is alive and he defeated death and sin. Now I can go back with that reassurance and glean through the ugly for lessons.
I agree every year the gruesomeness breaks my heart again. Ok, ok, I will stop today and breath in his sacrifice ( But I do know the ending. LOL)
Amy, I love the end of the story too, because it is glorious and redemptive and true. But the middle, the gritty, messy, painful part is where we see His humanity. His pain and His love.The blood poured out speaks volumes of "his dedication to mankind." We savor the messy because just like birth, it's out of the pain and blood and mess that new life springs. Such a good reminder on this Friday. Thanks for your beautiful words.
great post...yes..not to run through the dark times with our eyes shut...but with eyes and hearts wide open let Him lead us to the LIght. Happy Easter:)
I love skipping to the end as well. Something about knowing that it all turns out ok helps me endure the journey. great post!
And thanks for the reminder to not skip ahead this weekend, which is tempting to do.
Loved your relation to knowing the end of a book...I am an avid book reader. I'm guilty of wanting to know the end before I get there too! Funny that carries over into life too, I often struggle waiting on God and letting Him tell me what's going to happen & when I need to know it. Thought provoking post! Thanks for the encouragement to take in each moment, not rushing to the good ending! Excited to read more!
what your post brings to my heart is the fullness of relationship with Jesus..every SINGLE day. Just living within each day and practicing trusting and thankfulness..no matter what
has made ALL the difference in my heart these last months.
He loved me enough to follow through with the PLAN..and you and all men and women.
He is trustworthy and THAT is what He is teaching me fully today:)
xoxo
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