Happy Easter!

I am reminded this Easter morning of a hymn that I sang in the church where I grew up each and every Easter Sunday. It is not in the setlist for worship at The Lighthouse this morning, but I guarantee it will most likely be the song I sing the most through out the day. Here are the lines from the first verse and chorus of "He Lives"*:

I serve a risen Saviour,
He's in the world today;
I know that He is living,
Whatever foes might say;
I see His hand of mercy,
I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him
He's always near.

Chorus:

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and He talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He live, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives:
He lives within my heart.

I pray you have an A-mazing Easter with your loved ones today. I know I'm especially excited this year, because directly following the conclusion of worship today, Tiffany, Ethan, and I will join our ENTIRE family on my dad's side in Cordele, GA for Easter dinner. To the best of my recollection, it will be the first Easter dinner I will have ever had with my paternal grandmother. While we're down there, Easter baskets will be opened, eggs will be hunted, and the things that make Easter fun will be celebrated. But my prayer is that while we all enjoy family and some play time, that we remember that this day is as special as it is for one reason, and one reason only: He Lives!

Happy Easter!

*He Lives was written by Alfred Ackley, 1933

BE the Doodle

Tiffany and I were watching FOX News earlier today while enjoying our morning coffee. During the newscast, they made the observation that the web search giant, Google, did not have a reference to Good Friday in the “doodle” on their homepage. The Google Doodle is the name given to the drawings incorporated in the Google name as a heading for their search page. Despite Google’s practice of honoring birthdays of significant people and major holidays with their doodles, they decided it was best to glance over Good Friday in deference to the 205th anniversary of Hans Christian Anderson’s birth. I’m not kidding.

The people at FOX really wanted to make this a big deal. It even got my dander up or a few minutes, but then I calmed down. Would I like it if Google made a big deal about one of the most significant days in the course of eternity? Sure! Is it sad how political correctness in our culture seems to be taking on the role of a religion? Absolutely! But in the end, will it make that big of a difference? Nope; not at all.

People have tried to quiet or ignore Jesus and His Movement ever since the days He walked the earth in His bodily form. The societal powers-that-be have always tried to squelch His message and downplay His significance. Yet, despite all their efforts, Jesus is STILL the most significant person who ever has – and ever will – live. While a Google Doodle would be a nice way to honor Him, it isn’t by any means the best way to shine light onto Jesus.

So if not a Google Doodle, then how might we best honor Jesus, you might ask? Well the answer is simple and as old as the Jesus Movement itself: use your life! The most profound witness for Jesus always has been, and always will be, the story of a transformed life. Though I don’t have any empirical evidence, my gut tells me that people seeking meaning in this life get turned off by our holy wars on political correctness. The real passion and power behind the Jesus Movement has always been the light and love shared with those in need. The shining light of Christianity has always been when Jesus’ followers engage the world by feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty something to drink, showing hospitality to complete strangers, taking care of the sick, and visiting the imprisoned, all in the name of Jesus. (Matthew 25.36-41) In other words, the tools of proclaiming God’s love in Jesus are in compassion and personal witness inspired by the power of God’s love for us in Jesus.

This does not let us off the hook for shouting Jesus’ love to creation, though…quite the contrary! But in a world that seeks to keep Jesus’ followers quiet for the sake of political correctness, the loudest way to proclaim Christ’s love is to live out loud and let your life be the doodle! Don’t count on Google to do your work for you while you go about passively doing your thang; let your living and loving actions speak as you serve, share, and shine for the Lord!

Since today is Good Friday, it’s the perfect time to start. Let God’s love for you overflow into your life so you can go into the world and proclaim the power and passion of Jesus. Have a great day and BE the Doodle!