This year, as Easter approached, the Lord stirred me to write stories about the cross. The idea of writing about the death and resurrection of Jesus made sense to me, I'm a Christian writer and I'm called to preach the good news. It didn't seem too outlandish that God would want me to write about the cross.
But as I sat down to write, I found myself placing myself in the stories of the Bible, rather than summarizing or recounting what happened in those days. I found myself thinking "what would it be like to be a palm branch that was laid on the ground before Jesus, as he entered Jeruselum?" And so, I went on a journey, a journey to live the experience of Holy Week, rather than just read or write about it.
I found myself sitting at the feet of Jesus, weeping and pouring perfume over his feet.
I saw myself darting through busy market streets, looking for the one they called Hosanna.
I felt the grief of watching a son be beaten, mocked, and bruised to the point of death.
And I lived the confusion and excitement of seeing the risen King stand resurrected.
As I wrote these stories, I cried, worshipped, mourned, and rejoiced with the characters, I got to live just a little bit of their story. This brought me a fuller experience of devotion to the Lord and a deeper understanding of the cross. It also helped me to realize that we can hear the same stories of the Bible our entire lives and take those stories for granted or not appreciate the real-life heroes who we get to read about today. I hope to read and appreciate the Bible with a new lens of awe and wonder and pray I will never feel so familiar with the Bible that I forget it is alive, active, and sharper than any double-edged sword.
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