My brother, my sister, we are about to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ, which is the greatest Christian celebration. Every year, around Christmas, many people rush to shops to get their loved ones gifts, they get ready to prepare a buffet to celebrate Christmas in family as it is commonly known as the celebration of the birth of Christ. Yet, the Bible tells us that “A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). How then are we, the Christians, preparing for the day that celebrates the death on the Cross of our Lord and Saviour?
Yes, this is the time to prepare individually. I pray that we all start reflecting and preparing our hearts byremembering what Christ did for us on that day He gave His life for us. My friend, let the next 40 days be a time of fasting, meditation and prayer to get a better understanding of the sacrifice of the cross:
– fast to refuse and give up the things that our flesh demands to remember that Christ gave up His life for us to have life in abundance.
– meditate on the Word of God so that we can truly know what His death on the cross means to us, as the Bible says, we were crucified with Him and ask ourselves whether we really live the life of a crucified believer, as it is written in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
– pray because, before the Cross, our Lord prayed to be able to do the will of God and not His; even on the Cross, while he was being insulted and persecuted, He prayed for His persecutors. So we need His strength to resist adversity and our adversaries.
Don’t just wait for the celebration of the Passover, prepare as you would prepare for Christmas, but this time, why don’t you get gifts for the Kingdom of God to show your love for God as much as you would treat your family and friends at Christmas? Why don’t you open your house to offer a big meal for the hungry as you would do for your loved ones. This is the time to show we have really understood that we know what love is: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16). Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.