One of my all-time favorite TV shows was The West Wing. I'm a nut for all things presidential. I still think of Martin Sheen as the 42nd President. If I ever see him in person, I will probably inadvertently call him Mr. President. Anyway, one of his famous lines is after some political or economic crisis was resolved was "What's next?"
In church world, we spend much of our time building towards Easter Sunday. We do extra praise band rehearsals we take extra care in the words we use, and we do all of this to make the maximum impact because we know it will probably be the record attendance day for the year. We know that the likelihood that a 1st time guest or an unbeliever may enter our doors is much higher on Easter; so we focus. Well, today is the Wednesday after and I ask, what's next? Not so much for the church, but for you?
The cross is behind us, and we find ourselves living in the shadow of the cross. What does that look like for us? What did it look like for Jesus' followers in the shadow of the cross? What was the response they got when they began telling people that Jesus had risen from the dead? I'm guessing it would be the same that some of you hear...
"You really believe that fairy tale?" "Right, and I have some ocean front property to sell you in the Sahara." "People don't raise from the dead." Eh...they're right, people don't raise from the dead...though it would make for an interesting funeral!
How do we live in the shadow of the cross; how do we live in a world that often doesn't believe the one thing that they need most?
Paul addresses this in 1 Corinthians 1:18: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
The message we carry out in our day-to-day lives is foolishness to the world around you. What would it take for people to begin to see the risen Christ? You see Him everyday as you look in the mirror...Christ lives in you. Wait, don't rush over that...He lives IN you!
How would the perception of Christian's change if we actually began to believe that Jesus meant for us to literally feed the hungry, literally give water to the thirsty, literally clothe the naked? What if we accepted that Jesus didn't mean for us to merely write a check and let someone else do the work, but for us to actually get our hands dirty with people and love like Jesus?
That is exactly what the 1st Century Christians did...and it changed the world.
What's next?
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