Where would you go...
Where would you go, if you could go anywhere? Perhaps I
should simplify the question and ask, where would you go if
money were no object and I was picking up the tab? You mean
it wouldn't cost me a penny? Yep, that's what I mean! Air fare,
hotel, spending money? You got it! Even the most extravagant
of my wishes will be master to your wallet? Double yep! Wow!
Think carefully. Don't squander this opportunity. You don't
often come across someone as generous as I! Ok, so where
would you go? Would you escape from the late winter/early
spring blahs and fly to some exotic tropical retreat to be
pruned and pampered? Would you visit the family you never
see enough, and treat them to the time of their lives? Would
you see the pyramids, spy the Eiffel tower, or visit Mickey?
How about Venice with the one you love? Rome? Humm . . .
Keep going, there are lots of places to pick from, aren't there?
What if I told you that I just found a way to travel back in time?
Where would you go, and who would you visit? Would you join
Neil Armstrong as he took mankind’s first step on the moon?
Would you step off the ship with Columbus? Would you sign on
as Leonardo's (DaVinci, not DiCaprio) brush cleaner?
Perhaps you would rather return to the days when the world
was covered with old growth forests and the seas were full of
fish, and "pollution" was a word as yet uninvented? Or, maybe
you’re much more practical and just want to travel back to a
time when life didn't seem as complicated as it is now?
Ok, let's go off on another tangent. What about travelling
back into Biblical times? If you could pick a couple of events to
view what would they be? Creation itself? Imagine having a
front row seat at the moment the universe came into being!
Imagine watching the Master Painter create everything from
billions of stars to butterflies! Ok, may-be that's a little too "out
there" for you. How about the parting of the Red Sea? You've
seen a facsimile of it on television for the past thirty years or so.
How about visiting the real thing? How about picking up a
starfish off the damp sea floor for a souvenir? And, what about
the fall of Jericho? Wouldn't you like to be in on that and blow
your own horn?
What about the events that took place during the time of
Jesus? Would you want to be in the crowd when Jesus
delivered the Sermon on the Mount? Oh, to hear those words
actually spoken by our Lord! Not for you? Ok, how about the
feeding of the 5,000? Wouldn't it be wonderful to eat a miracle?
Maybe you'd love to see Jesus walk on the water or raise
Lazarus from the grave? That would certainly send your faith
into orbit!
Ok, I got it, who of us wouldn't want the opportunity to be there
with Mary, Peter and John as they saw the empty tomb and the
resurrected Lord, the first time? Oh, to be there when Thomas
fell at Jesus' feet and declared, "My Lord and My God!" To be
there for those 40 days and learn from the resurrected Lord -- WOW!
I wonder if any of us would travel back to the cross to witness
the birth of full and complete forgiveness? I 'kinda figure that not
many would. It would be too difficult, too painful. But wouldn't it
also be the greatest opportunity a follower of Christ could ever
have? To look into those eyes, to see that face, to hear those
words, "Father, forgive them!" And, unlike the crowd, we would
know that the words were meant for us! Imagine! Imagine
seeing love in action. Imagine seeing God's Son proclaim,
through exhausted tears mixed with royal triumph, "It is
finished!"
Well, we really don't have to imagine about either of these
last two events. We can visit them anytime. In fact we must visit
them every day! Why? Because we are nothing if we don't visit
the cross, or look upon the empty tomb. Life is empty for me if
the cross I can't see, and life's too large a cross to bear if the
empty tomb's not there! Whenever I sin, whenever I fail, the
cross reminds me of forgiveness---past, present and future.
Whenever I doubt His love, I look at the cross and see His
perfect love already proven, already given. I need to visit the
cross each day.
I also need to visit the empty tomb each day as well. Why?
To remind me that life has victory that is full and eternal. Some
days, victory is hidden beneath a vail of pain or sorrow just as
it was that first Easter. But, when I look at the tomb and realize
that the very same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at
work in me (Eph 1:18-20), victory becomes a tangible hook on
which to hang my hat. The day-to-day battles may be won or
lost, but by visiting the tomb I can't deny that I am, and forever
will be, victorious in Christ.
Visit the cross and the empty tomb? No need not to. God
already paid for the tour! Act now and, as an added bonus,
receive a cruise to eternity! Talk about your Love Boat! Now,
that's a trip no one should miss! Where would YOU go?
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly
to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one
who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was
without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16
[ by Grant MacDonald -- from Charlotte ]
Inspirational Messages
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