We are in the Easter Season. We celebrate with joy what has been accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We celebrate the glory of His victory over death and evil.
But we don't need to pretend that we ourselves are no longer suffering. Everyone endures trials and tribulation of one kind or another. There is immense suffering at all levels of life, from the depths of our hearts to the desperate struggles of nations and peoples. Our times are likely to see worse things...
Nevertheless, let us remember that Christ is Risen, and that He remains the center of history, the Source of our strength, the goal of our journey through this world.
Jesus is Lord! He defines and gives measure to every moment of our lives, directly, personally, by the power of His love for each one of us. All of life: the aspirations and successes, the compassion and courage and works of love we do, and the disappointment, the suffering, the sins, the failures, the weakness, the most appalling afflictions and all the incomprehensible, banal, repetitive, small, and apparently meaningless moments we endure and live day after day. He remains with us in the fullness of His victory. He dwells among us, He is "God-With-Us" and He has endured every sorrow so as to stay with us and draw us to Himself—to draw forth even the renewal of our freedom, and the growth of our freedom...if we will let Him. We can't begin to imagine how much He loves each one of us, how much He loves every single human being.
"Never Give Up" on Jesus. He is Risen! Rejoice...even when sometimes that "joy" feels like nothing but the bare grip by which we hold on to Him in the dark with wild hope and refuse to let go of Him even when everything seems crazy or lost.
