Sunday's Coming (Part 5)

People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:16-20 NIV).

The power of the resurrection transforms unbelief to belief, death to life, fear to courage, and despair into hope! The owner of a photography studio tells the story of a college boy who came in with a framed picture of his girl friend. He wanted the picture duplicated. Therefore it had to be removed from the frame. In doing this, the studio owner noticed the inscription on the back of the photograph. It was written by the girlfriend: "My dearest Tommy: I love you with all my heart - I love you more and more each day - I will love you forever and ever. I am yours for all eternity." It was signed "Dianne" and contained a P.S.: "If we should ever break up, I want this picture back."

The writer of Hebrews in our Scripture lesson this morning declares that God won’t change His mind! We have both a promise and an oath, unbreakable and binding. The proof of this truth is in the resurrection. Jesus has become the “anchor” of our souls. What a wonderful message from Easter! Many times in my life I have desperately needed that hope. A fog seems to settle in over my soul. Dark clouds gather, the storms howl, and troubles blow. Perhaps that’s where you are today, either from health problems, marital or family problems, financial problems, or the wearisome battle with loneliness, depression, or despair. If we look at those clouds, it is easy to feel defeated, to lose hope, to be afraid, and to walk further and further away from our city of hopes and dreams. However, if your faith is in the resurrected Christ, the sun still shines. Even after the rains, the rainbow still comes.

A true story is told about a distinguished man, the only white person buried in a Georgia cemetery reserved exclusively for blacks. He had lost his mother when he was just a baby. His father, who never married again, hired a black woman named Mandy to help raise his son. She was a Christian, and she took her task seriously. Seldom has a motherless boy received such warmhearted attention. One of his earliest memories was of Mandy bending tenderly over him in his upstairs bedroom each day and softly saying: "Wake up, God's mornin' is come." As the years passed, this devoted woman continued to serve as his substitute mother. The young man went away to college, but when he would come home each holiday and summer she would climb the stairs - more slowly now - and call him in the same loving way. One day after he had become a successful statesman, the sad message came: "Mandy is dead. Can you attend her funeral?" As he stood by her grave in the cemetery, he turned to his friends and said; "If I die before Jesus comes, I want to be buried here beside Mandy. I like to think that on resurrection day she'll speak to me again and say: "Wake up, my boy, God's Mornin' is come!" The sentiment expressed by this grateful man rings true… but it will be the Lord who will say to us: "Awake, my children, Morning is come!" And that's the hope of every Christian!

The message from the resurrection is that it is only Friday! On Sunday we are going home! Jesus is on His way back to gather us all to Himself. When your life seems to be just one big dark Friday, never forget that Sunday’s Coming! Let the power of the resurrection turn your despair to hope!