FROM PASTOR MEYER’S DESK:
So here I am, sitting in my office, getting geared up for a wedding that I will be doing in about an hour – a wedding that was supposed to have 350 people attending, but that now anticipates only 15 or so family members. The “big” wedding, the wedding that the bride and groom had dreamed of and longed for and meticulously planned for had to be “suspended” because of the whole Coronavirus situation that has captured the attention of the world unlike just about anything that has ever come down the pike.
As I was driving into town today that word “suspended” kept coming to my mind. Worship services SUSPENDED till further notice. Classes from preschool to high school SUSPENDED. March Madness not just SUSPENDED but canceled. Activities at the church SUSPENDED. The start of the professional baseball season SUSPENDED. It’s a word that has become far too commonplace since this whole nightmare began. But then it dawned on me. That’s what this season of the year is all about. It’s about SUSPENSION. In particular the SUSPENSION of the Son of God on an old rugged Roman cross nearly 2000 years ago. As He hung there that day SUSPENDED between
heaven and earth, in a way that we can’t begin to fathom or comprehend, the Father placed upon His own beloved Son the sin of all mankind – past, present, and future – and poured out on Him the hellish punishment that we deserved for those sins, thus SUSPENDING – indeed canceling – the judgment that should have been ours. Like Colossians 2:14 puts it: He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
So as we continue to deal with the inconveniences and suspensions that the Coronavirus has brought with it, may we pause to regularly reflect upon and give thanks for a Savior who allowed Himself to be SUSPENDED on that cross and His life SUSPENDED on this earth until that great resurrection miracle that we will soon celebrate. And He did it all so that we might SPEND eternity in His glorious, perfect, and awesome presence.
Anticipatingly yours,
Pastor Meyer