Easter has come and gone. The hams, chocolate bunnies, and deviled eggs have been consumed and enjoyed, and the colorful Easter dresses and plaid bow ties have been hung on the hangers and tucked in drawers.
But the resurrection of Jesus Christ will not, and cannot, be shelved until next Easter. We will need our resurrected Savior every day until then and beyond.
[click_to_tweet tweet=” The resurrection of Jesus Christ will not, and cannot, be shelved until next Easter. We will need our resurrected Savior every day until then and beyond.” quote=”The resurrection of Jesus Christ will not, and cannot, be shelved until next Easter. We will need our resurrected Savior every day until then and beyond.”]
REFLECTIONS FROM MOLDOVA
A few days ago I returned from the country of Moldova with Justice & Mercy International. Europe’s poorest country, and a small one at that, with an orphan population the size of a continent. I wrapped my arms around orphan girls whose journey, I beg the Lord, will not be one of being sex trafficked. I met a young teenager whose eye had been punched out by a drunken stepdad. I laid my trembling hand on a 3-year-old baby girl with hydrocephalus who is living in a two-bedroom hut with her single mom and 5 siblings. I heard stories of corruption and abuse. I visited a special needs shelter and consciously wondered over and over again whether I had one single meaningful scrap to offer anyone. Hang in there with me, I’m getting to the Easter reflections part.
One might think that returning home from a trip like this would bring fulfilling thoughts of having helped the “less fortunate”. That I’d really played my part in giving back and visiting the poor and orphaned. But as I mentioned in a recent Instagram post, my flight home was filled with thoughts of inadequacy, overwhelmed-ness, and strikingly above all, thoughts of my sinfulness. I was oddly aware not just of my sins, but my actual sin nature. Strange, it seemed to me. All while doing “good”.
Yet perhaps this is exactly one of the reasons that God—from Old Testament to New—has told us to take care of the poor.
Not only to bring help and hope to each image-bearer, but also as a reminder of our own total powerlessness before Christ. Being with the poor and powerless reveals to me that we all lay bare before Him, on equal footing, every one of us in need of resurrection.
I will never get over the reason God gave Israel for why they should take care of the foreigner, fatherless, and widow. “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.” (Deut 23:22) Every time an Israelite left sheaves on the ground, olives on the branches, grapes on the vine for someone who needed it, they were reminded of their own pasts as slaves. Sounds familiar to us who, before Christ, were held fast to our own selfish desires, addictions, and destructive behaviors? Who, even when we were doing the right things, couldn’t shake our inherent guilt?
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Every time an Israelite left sheaves on the ground, olives on the branches, grapes on the vine for someone who needed it, they were reminded of their own pasts as slaves. ” quote=”Every time an Israelite left sheaves on the ground, olives on the branches, grapes on the vine for someone who needed it, they were reminded of their own pasts as slaves. “]
THE KIND OF SAVIOR WE NEED
While in Moldova I was poignantly reminded that I don’t need a savior in the sole form of a moral teacher. I don’t need a great role model, spiritual guru, sage, or genie in a bottle. And—heaven help me—if all I need is to look deeper into myself, find my truth, trust my heart to lead me, or be more vulnerable so everyone can know that not being okay is okay, I’m in profound trouble. What I need, what we all desperately need, is a Savior, perfectly holy and righteous, who conquered death through His own death and resurrection, so that we can be made new. Not improved with mere better behavior. Rather a new heart and new life. “[God] made [Jesus] who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
One of the interesting facts about Moldova is despite its poverty its soil is some of the richest and most arable in the world. The lilies and tulips, sunflower and lavender fields, cherry and apple orchards, raspberry brambles and tomato vines are just about to start their show. New life is springing forth after a cold, hard winter. As I consider those sprawling fields, I’m reminded that in the bleakness of Israel’s winter God said through the prophet Ezekiel that a day was coming when, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
Jesus’s death and resurrection is the fulfillment of this prophecy, what has made it possible for my heart of stone to become a heart of flesh, for His Spirit to live within me. It’s the message of Easter we’ll need all year long. Until next year when the azaleas explode with blooms and remind us that we don’t need mere polishing, improvement or a new Easter dress, but a new heart. And we’ll celebrate all over again, that this newness is exactly what Jesus’s resurrection accomplished for us.
This post originally appeared on lifewayvoices.com
Some Questions For You To Answer
I am writing from Houston, TX. Had a great couple sessions kicking-off “No Other Gods” at Friendswood Community Church. Tonight we are off to Marquez, TX and then tomorrow morning we are flying to New Orleans for a women’s event a few hours outside of all the beignets and jambalaya. It’s going to be an exciting run.
In the meantime, I have a big favor to ask of anyone who is willing to share her thoughts: I am writing a new book on the classic virtues (godly character traits) in the Bible. I want to come at this from a very here-and-now angle. What I mean by this is: I don’t want to approach things like forgiveness, patience, integrity, etc. from a lofty, textbook approach because we need these things in REAL life, right? I want to really study them for what they are, while also looking at the power that only Jesus can give us to live these guys out.
I am passionate about these character qualities because they have made a huge difference in my life, and yet I feel there is little being said about them collectively right now. So here are my questions for anyone who is gracious enough to share: (Click on the title of the blog to continue reading and/or to comment!)
For Haiti
I John 3:16-18, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” [Click the title of the blog to read more]…
2010 Thoughts
Okay, I cannot lie. Monday, January 4th, 2010 was a huge downer for me… Since there was actually no catastrophe I should should probably back that up a bit-I was a bit bummed. I found it surprisingly difficult to get back into the swing of things, mostly because I had the most amazing time off. Lots of relaxing days with dear friends, family, great food, a lot of snow, too much shopping and football watching, lingering time with God, deep conversations, much needed rest – just an overall amazing break. Strange how this past Monday loomed over me simply because of one small word. Work. (click the title to keep reading)
The Next Door
<img class="size-medium wp-image-379" title="_MG_6226" src="https://kellyminter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/MG_6226-300×199.jpg"
Meet some of my favorite girls from The Next Door in Nashville, TN. My friend Mary Katharine (far right) and I have been teaching a Bible study here this semester to four amazing women who are overcoming addiction (one is not pictured). We are having the best time! And two of our other friends April and Paige have their own group as well so it's a mid-week party really!
God really spoke to me in the summer of '08 to start engaging in my local community. I had heard The Next Door was a Christian organization for women who had recently gotten out of prison and were working diligently to enter back into free society. The director told me she needed someone to teach on Wed nights so I figured I'd have the roughly 60 women who live there in my class. When I got the list there were only FOUR names! I have to be painfully honest in admitting that this didn't seem like the best use of my time (again, this is a shameful thing to admit, but if a blog isn't about honesty, what would be the point really). [Click the title to read more…]
The Lord Has Done This For Me!
I just finished my last official dates of the year with Christmas events: hitting Phoenix, Sacramento and finally Houston! After an incredibly amazing and busy year, I am happy to report that I am now sitting on my couch across from my fireplace mostly staring… While taking intermittent breaks from staring I’ve ‘toggled’ between my systematic theology book, Bible, Facebook and SI.com for most of the morning. You would be amazed at how seamlessly Wayne Grudem’s doctrine of miracles goes along with the article on Alabama heading to Pasadina for the national championship.
At any rate, I am hoping some of you have the opportunity to rest during this season. I am committed to it this year. The Lord has been speaking to me out of both the Old and New Testaments about rest. Sabbath rest. There is something exceptionally rich about getting to linger with the Lord; something I have really longed for these past few months.