February 15, 2008

by Sheila Walsh on 02/15/2008 01:02

Dear Friends,

Here is what I read this morning:

"The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you are looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He is raised just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed. The women deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb."
Matthew 28: 5, 7

I am sure that I have read these words many times but somehow they hit me with a fresh sense of awe today. Sometimes in the midst of all the stuff of life, I forget the essence of my life which is in Christ. The empty tomb is everything to the life of a believer. Because Jesus is alive, there is nothing to fear in the darkness. I love that the women lost no time in leaving the tomb. It was such a reminder to me that we all face "tombs" of sorts but because of Jesus, we don't have to stay there.

As Max Lucado said at our National conference last week, "For those of us who know Jesus, this earth is as close as we will ever come to hell. For those who don't know Jesus, this earth is as close as they will ever come to heaven." Profound and somber words.

The National conference in San Antonio was really amazing. There were several highlights for me. One was listening to Jim Caviezel, the actor who played the part of Jesus in the movie "The Passion of the Christ". It was clear that filming that very difficult role for so many months in the cold Italian winter had a profound impact on his life. During the scene where Christ falls under the weight of the cross on his way to Calvary, Jim actually fell due to a dislocated shoulder. He was in extreme pain but chose to continue filming, capturing just a moment of what the physical agony must have felt like for our Lord. He talked to our audience with a tenderness and grace as he expressed his renewed sense of the love that God had for each one of us that would compel him to allow his son to endure such torture so that we can be free.

So many things in the weekend reminded me of the bigger picture. We don't just exist to get through one more day or one more night of homework but we are a called people with a hope and a future that is glorious. As Michael W. Smith sang this song on Friday night, it seemed to sum up the gift that is ours today and tomorrow and for all our tomorrows.

With love,

Sheila

Above all powers
Above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began
Above all kingdoms
Above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth.

Crucified, laid behind a stone
You lived to die rejected and alone
Like a rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all

Lenny LeBlanc

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