"Life's Saturdays"

 

“Life’s Saturdays”

 

(This and the following three articles reflect some thoughts on the Resurrection season.)

 

Many years ago I heard of a preacher whose Resurrection Day message was called “It’s Friday, Sunday’s Coming”. Had I used this title I’d rightly have emphasized Christ’s crucifixion on Friday and His emerging from the tomb on Sunday. But what about Saturday, the day in between? Granted, it was the Jewish Sabbath so activity was limited, but how does it fit into the overall account? A couple of years back Pastor Wayne Blackburn observed that Friday was a time of failures, struggling and suffering; Saturday was marked by grief, confusion and hopelessness; but Sunday was a day of victory, deliverance and joy. So each of the days of that awesome weekend had a purpose in the redemption story as Jesus’ followers dealt with the events and their significance.

Sometimes life seems to be a series of Saturdays. Now that might sound good if we’re working five days a week but what if we’re dealing with the failures, struggles and hurts of life’s Fridays? Our Saturdays then become times of grief, confusion and feeling there’s no way out of the messes we, others or circumstances have made. But we can’t turn the clock back to Friday so there’s only one place we can look: ahead to Sunday. And there, because of Christ’s triumph over the devil, deception, disillusionment and ultimately death (“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?...thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Corinthians 15:55,57) we by faith experience new life, hope, joy and love. Jesus summed it up best when He said, “Because I live, you also will live.” (John 14:19).

Guy Penrod, formerly of the Bill Gaither Vocal Band, put this truth into a great resurrection song:

“Then came the morning, night turned into day,

The stone was rolled away, hope rose with the dawn.

Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun,

Death had lost and life had won, for morning had come.”

Has Sunday morning come for you?

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan