Easter & Fools

~ 2 Important Lessons From My Daughter ~

Background  ~  Many years ago I woke one spring morning and followed my regular routine of walking out to the mailbox and picking up the daily newspaper.  Then I grabbed a cup of coffee and settled into my favorite reading chair.  After a few minutes things seemed strange—the serial nature of the daily news seemed somehow out of whack!  Just then I saw my oldest daughter, in her teens at the time, trying to appear nonchalant as she peered into the room.   

A weird thought occurred to me and I quickly glanced at the top of the newspaper and discovered the date to be April 1 of the previous year!  My oldest daughter had successfully played an effective April Fools joke on her unsuspecting Dad.  I learned later that one year prior she had carefully folded the previously read newspaper, sealed it tightly so it wouldn’t yellow and kept if for a year for this day. 

 

First Lesson  ~  Since that spring day it has often occurred to me that Satan uses old news to trick us into foolish behavior in our Christian life.  Satan loves to replay old news in our minds—telling us we have failed, that God can’t use us, and that we are sinners.

It is true we are sinners—but Satan wants to turn us into a FOOL.  But the good news is that Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for all our sins.  If we have accepted that fact and gone to the foot of the Cross to claim our free gift the old news is totally irrelevant.  After we have been broken by our sin and lost our pride and arrogance then God can use us more effectively. 

Application  ~  Never play the fool’s game of listening to false voices—whether it is the voice of the devil reminding you of your past forgiven sins, or the voice of the world, or the voice of your own flesh.  Instead listen to the voice of Truth and what God has to say about you.  “Jesus said to him, “I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).  

Second Lesson  ~  The news in that year-old newspaper was as correct then as it was the day it was published.  Some of that news is quite trivial even when published let alone a year later.  However, some of that news was very relevant at the time of publishing and also a year later.  The same principle is true of the myriad information we all receive daily.  Sorting out what is truly important to your life is a part of wisdom. 

Application  ~  Of all the historical events nothing is more important than the resurrection of Jesus Christ which is celebrated continuously by Christians and noted specifically on Easter Sunday each year.  There is more indisputable evidence of the reality of Christ’s resurrection than for any other historical event of centuries ago.  In light of that reality what you decide about the person of Jesus Christ (who He is and what significance that has for you) is by far the most significant decision of your life. 

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1a, 53:1a).  If what you believe about God is correct/wise everything else will work out for good.  If what you believe about God is wrong/foolish you will eventually discover you have played a fools game—but unfortunately it may well be too late to correct course! 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

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