Rock and Roll

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”  Philippians 3:13 ESV

 

 

What’s weighing you down?

Is it your past?

Is it a struggle you have right now?

Is it the uncertainty of tomorrow?

What has your heart heavy with a burden that the joy of life can’t be seen, can’t be felt, or can’t be lived?

Does it feel insurmountable?

We all have something.

Whether a scar from decades gone by, or an open wound from days ago,

With life come problems.

With problems come hurt.

With hurt comes pain.

And before you know it, joy is fleeting. Joy becomes a once-in-awhile feeling that seems more like a stranger, than a friend.

Bitterness takes the place of happiness.

Resentment takes the place of delight.

Shame takes the place of dignity.

Your life…your issue…your sin—whether past or present, whether five minutes ago or five decades ago, can become a stone around your neck, weighing you down with the whisper from the enemy that it is still there. The whisper shows up at unexpected times, reminding you that you are not good enough because of it.

And life loses its luster just a little bit at a time until a darkness seems to be ever-present even in the brightest of places.

There was a darkness like that centuries ago. Death had come. A tomb was used. His tomb. Sealed closed with a boulder that couldn’t be moved. Yes, He took on a cross for our sins, but he also accepted a sealed, dark tomb for us. He accepted being closed in, sealed off, and laid to rest in death for us. For you. For me. A rock that kept Him separated from humanity. A rock, heavy with the burdens and sins of the world, used to separate the Creator from the creation. He accepted it for us.

May I remind you, that that “thing” which is weighing you down…it was sealed up with Him in that tomb! It was the heaviness that made that rock unmovable.

But then Sunday came.

And the rock in fact moved.

It was rolled away by the power of God to bring lightness back to a very dark place.

Your sin was in that rock.

It was rolled away forever.

It had to be.

If He took a cross for you–He certainly moved the rock for you.

The ugliness of sin was dealt with on Friday, but the beauty of forgiveness was revealed on Sunday.

Oh please understand! Whatever your burden, whatever your past, whatever your sin that you are holding on to, was in that rock that rolled away. If God moved it, why then are you holding on to it? Why then are you sealing closed your heart when the tomb has been opened?

Joy is what Sunday brought.

Joy is what forgiveness brings.

You don’t have to be weighed down by the heaviness of your past.  When you release the stone that has sealed up your heart, you will find the Rock to stand upon for life.

No tomb was deep enough to keep Him in.

No stone was heavy enough to seal him away.

And no sin is big enough that He won’t forgive.

He offers forgiveness to anyone, over anything, at anytime. Let the Rock roll away your darkness, so that you will remember—

You ARE good enough.

You ARE what those three days were all about.

YOU ARE FORGIVEN!

Darkness in the tomb was defeated. Darkness in your heart can be defeated. Your tomb has been sealed too long! Let the Giver of Life come in and fill your soul. Let the lightness flood in where darkness has taken its place. And let your heart be filled with the unspeakable joy that comes from an empty tomb.