Tip of My Iceberg

Photo courtesy of Siu Scarbor on Unsplash

Liminal space. That transitional place between what was and what hasn’t come yet, a threshold leading into the new and not yet experienced. It’s rather like the darkness of a hallway as you move from one room to another; having left, but not having arrived.

This past Saturday felt like that liminal space for me. Good Friday, this past Friday, marked the day when Jesus voluntarily sacrificed Himself for the sake of all people of all time. Out of a heart of love and compassion, because He knew we couldn’t achieve heaven on our own.

We’re just not perfect.

So many have become calloused to the crucifixion, the nailing of the innocent Jesus to a cross, the most brutal, dehumanizing way of execution the Romans could come up with. This, after being betrayed by one of His own. He was flogged within an inch of His life, slapped around, and bullied by soldiers who had no idea who He was. To many, it’s a story that they can’t wrap their heads around. Or choose not to consider it at all. To those of us who follow Jesus, it’s the ultimate expression of love and compassion.

It was an impactful scene. When Jesus breathed His last, giving up His spirit, those who had followed Him for three years had already left to go into hiding, except John, the apostle, who faithfully stood by Mary, Jesus’ mother. But a Roman soldier, who would have been a follower of polytheistic paganism, was dramatically changed by what he experienced at the foot of the cross. “When the Roman officer who stood facing Him saw how He had died, he exclaimed, ‘This Man truly was the Son of God.’” Mark 15:39. This man was not only a centurian, but a Gentile. He had no understanding of who the Messiah was, yet he could identify Him.

The pain of that day was followed by the fear Jesus’ followers felt on Saturday. A darkness that pervaded their hearts because they hadn’t prepared for this, even though Jesus had mentioned three times that He’d be going to His death. The fear of not being able to understand the unexplainable can weaken the strongest of hearts, undo the mightiest of resolves.

Easter came, and with it, Jesus conquered death once and for all. He appeared to many during the forty days after His resurrection. “He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve. After that, He was seen by more than 500 of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive…” 1 Corinthians 15:4-6. Many witnessed Jesus alive after His resurrection. Nobody contradicted what was written; there were too many eyewitnesses.

Saturday is where we find ourselves today. That in-between space, seeing the harshness of the world around us, hoping for something better, but not seeing it yet. There’s a remarkable revival happening among young people, who are tired of answers that don’t work. People are seeking the truth in Jesus because living in Saturday frightens them. The fear and the not knowing; that can cause unrest in any soul. Many are not happy with cliches or mindless platitudes that people throw around because they don’t want to deal with the truth.

Truth? Jesus died a heinous death. For us. To take on Himself the burden of all the miserable wrongs we do. He didn’t remain deceased; He conquered death by rising from the dead. He lives today to provide us with the hope of having a relationship with the God of the universe.

Nobody has to live in the liminal space of Saturday, the fear of the unknown, the discomfort of feeling as if life has little meaning.

Jesus came to make a way for us to heaven.

Sunday is coming.