To Know a Life with Meaning!
Who bear the deepest misery inside? Who know the
greatest emptiness?
Those who claim that Jesus lied and choose a life that's meaningless.
Each Good Friday I leave the busy-ness of life and seek a place where I can
reflect on Jesus, His death, the resurrection, and what it all means.
Walking through forests, crossing cascading streams, and strolling along
ridges have a way of easing my mind and allowing me to hear God more
clearly. This year my wife, daughter and I hiked an 8.2 mile loop and it was
an absolutely beautiful day. Deep blue sky, occasional breeze, and fresh
spring air. We followed Slaughter Creek past Slaughter Mountain and up to
Slaughter Gap, then climbed to the top of Blood Mountain. Notice a theme
there?
According to legend, a few hundred years ago the mountain was claimed as
sacred ground by two competing and warring tribes, the Cherokee and the
Creek. Each wanted the land only for themselves, resulting in a terrible
battle that raged on for days. Thousands upon thousands of warriors were
slaughtered by each side, so many it was said the mountain was covered with
their blood.
I remembered that old tale as we passed through the Gap and made our way up
Blood Mountain. I imagined Cherokee and Creek running along these same
trails, fighting and killing as they struggled to drive away the other. I
could almost sense the pride they must have carried in their hearts. As I
considered all this, I thought, What a meaningless effort it has turned out
to be.
Neither Cherokee nor Creek live there any more. They make no claim on the
mountain. There's no effort to save the memory of their great battle. If not
for bits of evidence, no one would know it had occurred at all. Most have
forgotten while few still care if the old stories are true. And for all
those warriors who had faith in their god and their cause, time has shown
they died in vain. Their effort was ultimately useless.
Then I thought of Easter. Do we recall the great battle that took place two
thousand years ago? Do we know what it was about? Do we believe how it
ended? The Apostle Paul once wrote, ..what I received I passed on to you as
of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the
Twelve...to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time...to
James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also... 1
Corinthians 15:3-8
In this battle, Jesus died, was buried, was raised on the third day, and was
alive again, all witnessed by hundreds. Accounts were written and preserved.
By accepted standards, that was more than enough proof, yet still some did
not believe. Even today many argue that Jesus never died and that it was a
hoax, though they have no evidence to support their claim. In the legal
profession such people are "false witnesses". They desperately create a
story to give their own lives meaning. Paul wrote about that, too.
If Christ was not raised...his preaching was useless and he was a false
witness about God. If Christ was not raised...all faith in Him has been
futile and those who have died believing in Him have done so in vain and are
lost forever. If Christ was not raised...we are to be pitied more than all
others because we have believed a lie. ( See verses 14-19) Paul used the
word kenos, meaning empty, to describe a void where there is absolutely
nothing. So if Jesus was not raised, Paul says all his effort, our
faith...even our lives...have been for nothing.
But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. (verse 20) Not a
thought, not a wish, but a fact. How did Paul know? Because he had proof,
and so do we. We can see Him work in our lives and the lives of others. We
can feel His presence and hear His voice. And with Christ as Lord, teacher
and friend, we become a miracle the world cannot comprehend...lives with new
meaning and examples for those who reject the proof, who refuse to
believe...who have chosen a life that is meaningless.
Driving home we passed church after church along mountain roads, country
lanes, and city streets. Every single one had signs proclaiming the joy that
we know. And I have to admit, each time it stirred my heart.
HE LIVES !!!!!!!
Take care and be God's,
Chuck Graham
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