On this Easter, I have been reflecting on how the nature of our “topsy-turvey,” upside-down, inside-out, role-reversed faith. At Easter, we revel in the fact that we are not saved by our own good acts, the length of our lives, or the wealth we accumulate or give away. Instead, we stand in complete and utter dependence on Jesus’ physical death and physical resurrection more than 2,000 years ago. Our hope is inextricably tied to the power of the Resurrection of Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 1:27, Paul
writes,
“God chose what is weak in the
world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world,
even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human
being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him who are in
Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and
sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who
boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Many of us who lost children in infancy or youth struggle
with understanding God’s purposes and the child’s ongoing legacy. So many
of us wanted a different legacy for our children. But the great role
reversal of the Christian faith is that we have every assurance that the
eternal destiny and legacy of those who are saved by Christ is secure by reason
of Jesus’ work for us. Jesus is my wisdom, my righteousness, my redemption,
just as Jesus is Micah’s wisdom, righteousness, and redemption.
To the degree that we can “boast,” or take pride in, our own
achievements, we have the tendency to focus our thoughts and efforts on those
tasks. But if we are weak in the eyes of the world – if we are sick, sad,
stupid, disheveled, and poor--we remove some of our natural inclinations
towards making much of ourselves. When you feel week in the eyes of the
world, how does that magnify God? To the degree that we spend little to
no focus on our own merits and efforts to merit attention, we magnify God’s
good name. In some sense, then, I must align my own legacy in humility to
be the same as my first born and now deceased son Micah’s legacy.
On this Easter, we do well to align our true subjective hope with the objective
reality of the Resurrected and Risen Lord.
