Our Post Easter Duty
Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:18-20
There’s the story of a young boy who went to visit a farm. As he looked around this farm, he saw a mother hen and about five of her chicks pecking at the ground.
Now, as you know, young boys like to throw rocks, and this little boy thought he had found himself some nice little targets. So, picking up a rock, he chucked it at one of the chicks. Missing his target, he quickly bent over to gather another rock. However, when he stood back up to take aim, all the chicks had disappeared.
Where had they gone? As soon as that first rock hit the dirt, the mother hen raised her white-feathered wings up high and all her furry yellow chicks scurried to her. Quickly closing her wings around the frightened chicks, Mom tucked them safely away.
That is great picture of what Jesus meant when He spoke with tears in His eyes about Jerusalem.
Weeping in Matthew 23:37, He cried out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem...How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let Me.”
Jesus tells us that He longs to protect us, to watch over us, to be our shelter, our shield, and our protector. As Christians, we are so very fortunate to know that when the rocks of life are thrown at us, we can run to our Savior for safety.
The same cannot be said for the many that live and work and go to school all around us. Most have no such knowledge of where to go when the rocks of life are thrown in their direction. So what do they do? They turn to alcohol or drugs or prescription meds, hoping those things will help them forget that rocks are being thrown. That is, until the alcohol, drugs, and pills become rocks of their own.
Maybe they plunge head first into a drive for success, or wealth, or fame and that helps them ignore the rocks. That is, until they realize they are just as empty and unfulfilled as before.
Maybe they spiral into depression, or maybe they go from relationship to relationship trying to find someone who won’t let them down. (I speak on this in detail in my book series Searching for More.) Tens of millions of people are doing these very things while you read, yet we know they will not find the answer there. We have the answer. We know where they can find hope, and life, and rest, and comfort.
Since we know this, it is our duty to tell them. It is our duty to tell them that everything they need is found in Christ. Since that very first Easter morning, the message has been clear. Jesus is the answer. Our duty now is to turn people toward Him!
