Tomorrow is Easter – Resurrection Sunday. My Bible is open before me, the scripture describing the brutal beating and horrific death of our Lord staring up at me from the pages. I ponder the events, the reality of what the Lord did for me. He took my sins, died my death, and went to the grave in my place. He was my sacrificial lamb, my atonement. I sip my coffee and stare out the window. Today, over two thousand years ago, Christ was in that grave, defeating death, and awaiting the dawn of the third day – the dawn of the morning and the dawn of the Son, proclaiming His triumph and victory.
Spring is in the air. The snow is melting, leaving piles of sand and gritty snow all over the yard. Chipmunks are chasing each other around the patches of grass. Birds are gathered around the bird feeder. My attention is drawn to a trio of goldfinch. The female watches as two males dance, their wings open, tails fanned, shaking their feathers in a comical display. The female watches. She looks bored. It isn’t long before the males are attacking one another, battling each other in the air, beaks pecking, talons scratching, oblivious to another male hopping slyly toward the female.
He isn’t nearly as flashy as the others, yet she notices him. She cocks her head a moment, looks again in the direction of her battling suitors, and glances back at the new contender. The new beau chirps, shakes his tail, and flits to the feeder. He tosses seed to the ground, searching for the best. He gathers it in his beak, swoops back to the ground and drops the seed at the feet of the female. Another quick glance at the performance in the air, a little head tilt toward to the new suitor, and she nibbles the seed, fans her tail, and takes off into the air with her new friend beside her.
The other males drop to the ground, panting, and looking around as if to say “what just happened here?”
I have to laugh as I turn back to my Bible. I’m sitting here, pondering the incredible sacrifice my Lord made for me on that dark Friday, and I get distracted by the birds. And something within me asks “what just happened here?”
Everyday life is much like my Bible time this morning and the spectacle outside my window. How easily we become distracted. We are overwhelmed by the cross, recognize Christ’s ultimate sacrifice – His life for ours. We rejoice in the resurrection, fall on our knees and surrender our lives to our savior. Then, life happens. The everyday “things” come along and distract us from the Lord. The female goldfinch was so busy watching the warring males that she almost missed the gentle suitor standing before her. We, too, allow ourselves to be distracted by the “flashy dances” going on around us. We shift our attention to the gloss and sparkle of the world, ignoring the glory of eternity. We become wooed by what falsely promises completeness and pleasure, and stray from the scarred hand of Jesus reaching out, promising wholeness and eternal life.
As I resume my Bible time, I can feel the gentle presence of the Lord. “I did this for you,” His voice whispers as I again read about that gruesome Friday from long ago, His life for mine. And I rejoice in the resurrection, death defeated, eternity promised for me. I pray I won’t lose sight of it, that I will never lose that awe and understanding of what He has done for me, that my eyes will never stray to the spectacle and lose sight of the Lamb.
