When a choice becomes a “Choice”
• Decisions are a funny thing
o We make them all the time; most of them we don’t even thing about
o Yet, there comes a time when a decision becomes a “Choice”
• A choice becomes a “Choice” when it is made in spite of the situation surrounding it
o Take a dating couple, the choice to get married is really not that big of a decision as it is made in the heat of passion
* The real Choice to be married comes when the cards are down; when the pressures of life is pushing and pulling the couple apart
o This is true for most any thing
* When something is simply the next logical step on a journey, then it really isn’t a choice
* It is when a decision is made against all odds, when nothing is known for sure, that is when a Choice is made.
• The day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is a perfect example of this
• Holy Saturday was a dark day during which the followers of Jesus knew nothing but despair, fear and pain.
o Yes, they had the Prophets and Jesus’ own words predicting his resurrection…
o But they weren’t sure if these words were just empty rhetoric thrown out to give false hope to their desires of a promised Messiah.
• It was at this time – in the darkness of life – when the Disciples made their real Choice to follow Jesus…
King is Away
• Luke 19:11-28 is a passage foreshadowing Holy Saturday.
• In verse 11 we see that the people thought that Jesus was getting close to ushering in the Kingdom of God
o After all He had just healed a blind man, converted a tax collector and was headed to Jerusalem…
While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. (Luke 19:11)
• In response to this mindset, Jesus tells a story about a nobleman who goes on a journey to receive His royal authority
o This is a story about both Holy Saturday when he was in the tomb and the time between his Ascension and Second Return
o You see, we currently live during a paradoxical time – a time between the now and not yet, as it is commonly called
o This is a time during which God’s reign and rule is here – but not in its fullness
o Just like the during between the election of a president and their inauguration
o This is a story about the time during which we live
Continue reading Doubt and Uncertainty When The King Is Gone…