Heart in Bloom

“As we hear about Jesus Christ’s return, we wait with hope:

Jesus of Nazareth had been convicted, condemned to death by crucifixion, and nailed to the cross on Golgotha. Our Lord’s last words on the cross show us the very depth of His suffering. It went far beyond physical and mental pain. ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ Jesus cried. (Mark 15:34)

Yes, God the Father in heaven had forsaken His only Son, for that period of time when He bore the sins of the entire world. It was as the prophets of the Old Testament had predicted it would be, and this was what had to transpire for all believers to be saved from eternal death. He had truly become the Passover Lamb of God.

In the arrest and the trials of Jesus Christ, all of His disciples had scattered. They expected victory, not defeat, that spring in Jerusalem. They went into hiding, Jesus’ disciples had believed He was their Jewish Messiah who would set up the kingdom of God on earth. They believed, that would bring the end of all evil, the restoration of the dead. All of His followers had deserted Him, except for the woman who stayed as Jesus was taken from the cross, wrapped in a linen and placed in a tomb carved out of rock on a hillside, a stone sealed the grave. And according to Mark chapter 16, just after the sun rose two days, Mary Magdalene and two other women were on their way to anoint the body of Jesus with spices, that first day of the week.

John says Jesus Christ’s followers didn’t know that Jesus ‘must rise from the dead.’ They never comprehended what Jesus was trying to tell them about how he would die and three days later rise again. While Jesus was a name, Christ was a title, meaning ‘anointed one.’ Our Savior was indeed the one anointed by God to be the sacrificial lamb whose blood washes away our sins. If there had been no resurrection, how would believers have kept His name alive? Later, He appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. Mark verse 14, ‘He rebuked them for their unbelief, their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after he had risen.’ But their unbelief quickly turned into belief so strong. The angel announced ‘He isn’t here, He has risen from the dead!’ (Mark 16:6).

Faith in the risen Lord is every reason to commit our life to God.

Like the repentant thief on the cross, we need to ask out Savior to ‘remember me.’

Jesus our Savior suffered physical and mental punishment long before He was nailed to the cross. At the trial to decide His fate, He was mocked, spat upon, scourged, and had a crown of thorns beaten into His scalp. In His already weakened condition, He was first made to carry the heavy cross out of Jerusalem, on the road to Golgotha where He would be put to death. But when the soldiers realized Jesus was in no shape to bear the burden of the cross, they forced someone coming into town from the country to carry it behind our Savior.

At Golgotha, two others, who were criminals, were also crucified on each side of Jesus. Jesus truly suffered the agony of being crucified in body, mind, and spirit, it was a sad time for Jesus’ disciples. It was an extremely sad time for His mother Mary, and other family members who stood beneath the cross as He was hanging there. ‘Father, forgive these people because they don’t know what they are doing,’ said Jesus (Luke 23:34).

Jesus forgave everyone, those who crucified Him, along with all sinners. God the Father in heaven had revealed to Jesus That there was no other way to save humanity. And Jesus willingly became the sacrificial lamb of God. Even on the cross, Jesus was scoffed by one of the criminals hanging beside Him (verse 39).

It was then that the other thief on the cross protested, saying, ‘Don’t you fear God even when you’re dying? We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ That truly touched Jesus, who then said to that repentant thief, ‘I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.’

Our only Hope comes through the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross. We need to pray like that thief, ‘remember me’ and we can believe in Jesus our Lord and be with Him in paradise. After we die, some people will remember us for a while.

If we call upon Jesus Christ our Savior, He will remember us, and He will take us to be with Him and to live in the presence of God the Father. Jesus realized He was close to death and some of His last words on the cross were; ‘It is finished!’ (John 19:30)

Then Jesus shouted, ‘Father I entrust my spirit into your hands!’ And he breathed His last (Luke 23:46). At that moment of Jesus Christ’s death, there were physical signs, even the captain who stood facing Jesus saw how He gave up His spirit and praised God. He said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God.’ (Matthew 27:54)

All that was left was for God to raise Jesus from the dead on that Sunday, just as our Lord promised would occur. Resurrection day was coming! All pain, tears, and sadness would soon be turned into joy and gladness!

As we hear about Jesus Christ’s return, we wait with hope. Where do we find fulfillment, contentment, and hope? All of us have tried looking for love, security and happiness through our jobs, possessions, and relationships. The Apostle Paul knew the answer to this question, and he prayed that all those he was preaching to, would discover the source of true happiness.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, ‘So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in Him’. (Romans 15:13) Then Paul continues by telling the Romans and all believers, where to find the kind of hope that gives all of us something to really live for, ‘may you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit’. He says, any lasting hope must come from God.

We can search for this hope in all kinds of places, but unless it comes from God we will end up in a hopeless situation.

All of us need to pray daily that God will send an extra measure of the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with the same kind of love and hope that Jesus our Savior displayed in this life on earth. ‘And this hope, will not disappoint us’ writes Paul, ‘for we know how dearly God loves us because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our heart with his love.’ (Romans 5:5)

God gives us hope in all situations, whether we’re trying to accomplish something big in our lives or just trying to recover from a failure. He gives us hope when we are sick or feel down mentally. But the greatest hope we receive from the Holy Spirit is that described by Paul in Romans 8:21. ‘For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pain of childbirth right up to the present. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us a foretaste of future glory.’ also grown to be released from pain and suffering.

The world is crying out for Jesus Christ’s return to stop all the pain and suffering. People know that things all over the world keep getting worse instead of better. Most people don’t realize it but they are longing for freedom from sin and all the bad things created by it. ‘Now that we are saved,’ continues Paul to the Christians in Rome, ‘we are eagerly looking forward to this freedom.’ ‘For if you already have something you don’t need, hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently.’ (Romans 24:25)

The world desperately needs this kind of hope, and all of us who have it can wait patiently and confidently for Jesus Christ our Lord to come again in power and glory.” – Guadalupe Revilla

“So I pray, that God who gives you hope, will keep you happy, and full of peace, as you believe in Him.” (Romans 15:13)