Today was Palm Sunday and for me the celebration of Easter has officially started. All this week I will be remembering the final week of Jesus' life and then His resurrection on Sunday morning. I've actually been getting ready for Easter for the past month, but now the celebration really begins. For those of you who don't know what Palm Sunday is it is the day when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem to observe the Passover Feast with His disciples. As Jesus entered Jerusalem the people began to celebrate His arrival saying that He was King of Israel who had come to save His people. It was a time of high praise and the people worshiped Jesus as they would an earthly king. Really it was the only time when the Jewish people acknowledged Who Jesus was during His time on this earth. As I was remembering this time in the life of Jesus I had a thought: what areas of my life am I allowing Jesus to enter as and celebrating Him as King? Are there parts of my life where Jesus is not allowed to enter and should He do so it would surely not be as King but merely as a visitor? Are there areas in my life that I shut Jesus out of? Sadly, yes. In taking an inventory if my life and everything in it I can most assuredly see areas where Jesus is certainly no where on the scene and should He show up as King I would throw a huge fit. However, I want this to change. I want every area of my life - my schooling, my job, my life at home, my personal life, my friends, my family, my relationship with God - to be open so that Jesus can come in and not as some passing visitor but as King. I want to rejoice, just as those people did so many years ago, that Jesus has showed up in my life and He has come to save me and give me a good life. I want to be able to say, "Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord!"
*About Me* Pretty much all my life I have been involved in ministry. When I was very young I was part of the children's choir at church and we went all over the city singing at nursing homes. By the time I was 14 I was in the youth/adult choir and we sang at church events, rehab centers, detention centers, homeless shelters, college campuses, and public events of all kinds. My schedule then was about two performances per week. I am still in ministry and go to many of the same places I did when I was 14 and then some extra ones. A regular week for me has approximately three performances in it with one or two added on the weekends every now and then as well as accompanying the children's choir at two retirement/care facilities each week. So every month I perform in some way at least twenty times. Is that tiresome? Sometimes, but seeing people's lives changed or watching them just enjoy the music or listening as they tell you how much they were touched by what you are doing makes every single thing worth it. I've been on large stages and performed for large audiences, and I have felt the rush of being center stage with everyone looking at you and being awed (so you think) by your great ability; but I wouldn't trade what I do in ministry for a whole life of performances like that. Nothing is better than knowing that you helped make a difference in someone's life or that you ministered to someone when they most needed it.
No comments:
Post a Comment