"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:1-5 (NKJV)
Rights and entitlements...
... - things that consume the majority of the secular mindset.
My rights, my stature, my deservedness, position, possession, portion, and place seemingly have an overwhelming priority in the minds of current society.
Self, selfishness, and self exaltation - these things and the interest in them helped condemn the species of mankind from very early in his history. Yet the lesson of their cancerous effect and inheritance is seemingly never learned by mankind as he continues to allow himself to be exposed to, and strive after, the very things that have the potential to ruin him endlessly ... and permanently.
There was once a man though who came into this world and walked through it radically bucking the unholy mindset and trend of mankind. He taught the true virtues that give life to the obedient and that would lead to mankind finding himself blessed. He stressed selflessness in the face of selfishness and humility in the face of hubris and feigned piety. His wisdom was striking and His teaching radically against the grain of much accepted norm of the day ... ... and they killed Him for it.
"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:10-13 (NKJV)
Jealousy, arrogance, and the hatred of being told that they were in the wrong, were all part of the reasons that mankind of that day condemned this man to death. What about His rights? What about His life? It might seem that this was just another injustice about to be swept into the dustbin of history, but behind the scenes there was something much bigger going on. It was something that mankind of the day didn't understand.
The Man: "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world." John 12:46-47 (NKJV)
From the moment that Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, which resulted in the species of mankind living under the curse of God's wrath until the day of his judgment by God, mankind has proved innumerable times to be among his own worst enemies. And mankind's destination under God's anger was horrific and set because of Adam's disobedience to God. Adam was the very first man that God created and it was Adam that allowed the cancer of sin to enter God's creation and thereby condemn all of mankind to die an eternal death as punishment. But God, being who He is, out of love for the mankind that He had created with such hope of relationship, sent another Man. That Man, was Jesus - The Christ, The Messiah, God's only begotten Son. It was this Man, who was born among us, that came to be God with us and lay down His own life as the perfect sacrifice - the only sacrifice that could pay the price of mankind's sin against God and provide the opportunity for men to be reunited with God for eternity.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:16-21 (NKJV)
And God's enemies thinking that they had killed Jesus once and for all, found themselves confronted with their own darkness when Jesus, proving that He is indeed the Son of God, and Himself God, rose from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion on a cross of wood. His rising proving that Jesus is God, who laid His own rights and life down selflessly and paid the price of punishment for the sins of those who believe Him. THIS rising of Christ Jesus alone being what His believers celebrate as Easter - barring any other preoccupation or presentation of the observance by any. It alone serves as the greatest gifts mankind has ever received at a horrendous price to God Himself because of His passion for those who choose to love and believe Him.
"But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive." 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (NKJV)
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJV)
He Is Risen.
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