“This Easter celebrate the victory of love over judgment!”
Christ as the savior is the Easter message, but what if Christ were to walk into your church and preach? What would the message be?
Christ is the savior of love. His message is one in which all people rise in the glory of God, but this is not the message many pastors preach on Sunday mornings. They reach into the bag of sermons and teach about the judgment to come, about Christ’s glorious return to judge the quick and the dead, but what does that mean?
This Sunday morning when Christ comes back to show His disciples that He has conquered death, He returns in victory. Victory was given because Christ chose to love all of God’s people regardless of their sin. This is the victory to love over the judgment! The judgment we face does not fall on us from God, but from the lack of love in our hearts. I tell you the truth God loves beyond judgment. The final judgment is when we give up on love. The moment we give up on love, we give up on the Spirit of life. We call it judgment because this is what we feel when we stop loving each other in compassion. But God never stops loving, so how can God judge?
The judge is the one who makes the final decision. Would God make the decision for us to stop loving? On this Good Friday, April 22, 2011, Christ never stopped loving. In fact, He went so far as to speak, “God forgive them for they know not what they do.” He loved BEYOND judgment. He conquered death. His body was beaten, but His Spirit rose in life. The love of life is the spirit of truth. Christ is life. Christ is truth. And in Christ we should always remember His lasting commandment, love God above all else, but also, love your neighbor as yourself. Christ showed mercy on the cross. Even when we showed judgment toward Him, He showed the compassion of love toward us. Mercy triumphs over judgment and this is the real message of Easter Sunday.
Mercy brought Christ home. Mercy brought His love into our hearts. And mercy is what heals our imperfect nature. Mercy is the moment compassion wraps its arms around another in love, because it is in this moment we understand we have the choice to love beyond our endless judgments.
The next time you are sitting in Church imagine Christ is at the pulpit and He is speaking the Word of God. Would He speak in judgment or in love? Would His words resonate with compassion or with hate? Christ rose above the world we created. His love is not focused on what we do wrong, but on what we can do in love! Christ has triumphed over judgment and through His victory we are triumphant. It is our choice whether we accept His victory in our hearts! There doesn’t have to be judgment if we allow ourselves to love beyond it.
This Sunday celebrate Easter in victory! Celebrate the love of Christ in your heart and let go of all judgment you hold toward all people! Because it was for all people that Christ chose to be crucified on the cross. He accepted mercy over judgment. He loved beyond it! Have compassion for your neighbor, have love for all mankind! It is in this love we find freedom from the judgment to come –the judgment we place on ourselves—we can move beyond it because Christ triumphed over death! He rose beyond to lift us all to life! Celebrate the victory of love over judgment! Celebrate the triumph of Christ!
By Christa A. Lamb