For whom did Christ suffer and die? This morning, reflecting on the Passion, death and resurrection of the Lord, He gave to me a moment of clarity. For whom did He do this all? Only for the believers? Or, maybe for those who might come to believe?
On Easter morning, all souls sigh a deep breath of relief. The souls of those who are opposed to His teachings. The souls of those who have betrayed Christ. The souls who cried out ‘crucify Him!’ Yes, even those souls of the ‘liberal’ who preaches a gospel of abortion and anti-freedom, and anti-God. And, the soul who’s mind has never heard of the Lord. Yes, on that morning at the blown open tomb, all souls cry out.
For all those “holy” Catholics and Christians who condemn those who are opposed to Jesus and those who attack belief in Him, know that He died for all, in many ways, most for those souls.
His closest, most dear followers hid behind locked doors dejected and in fear. Many ran away, some to Emmaus and others to the four corners. We know of one who betrayed Him and surrendered all hope and another who denied Him lost hope to be redeemed.
It doesn’t matter who. If the person, creature or thing was created by God, it sighed in relief and joy. And, since God us the Creator of ALL things, you do the math….
So this morning, reflect back a few weeks to Easter morning. Reflect back a couple millennia to that first Easter morning. Remember how you felt. Imagine, knowing all you know now, running with Peter and John to find the tomb empty, hide behind a bush as Jesus calls out to Mary at the tomb. See the tear of joy in John’s eye, the look of expectant hope as Peter looks up, and the tears flow as Mary realizes it truly is Jesus alive before her. Let your soul free in this moment.
Then, run down the hall and out the door to tell everyone what you feel in this moment. Let you emotions free. The fear that you felt knowing He was dead, the sorrow for the lashes you whipped over His back in your sin. The realization that it was your betrayal that crucified the Lord as you tried to give those ‘coins’ back. Let the joy of finding the risen Lord alive and at your side flow out.
That is evangelization.