It will soon be Good Friday!
Good Friday is the day we remember and rejoice in the death of Christ on the cross for our sins. We can celebrate Good Friday because, in the words of S. M. Lockridge, “Sunday is coming!”
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 summarizes the gospel in this way: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”
Good Friday can be celebrated as “good” because of Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is only worth rejoicing in because of what Jesus accomplished on Good Friday. Praise God we can celebrate both! Jesus died on the cross in our place for our sins! And thanks be to God He rose from the dead on the third day!
“If Jesus rose from the dead you have to accept all he said, if he didn’t rise from the dead then why worry about anything he said…If Jesus rose from the dead, it changes everything.”
Think about that… The resurrection changes everything! Even parenting? Yes.
1. The resurrection means the cross was enough
All that Christ accomplished on the cross is affirmed as true by the resurrection! On the cross, Jesus took the just judgment we deserved for our sins. He was the sinless sacrifice who suffered in our place that we might be forgiven. He bore the weight of our sins on the cross so that we might feel the freedom of forgiveness.
Paul says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21) But Paul still says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17).
The resurrection shouts that the cross was enough!
Jesus’ death on the cross fully paid the price we owed because of our sins and it is the resurrection that announces this good news to us. If Christ has not been raised, then we are still in our sins! If Christ has not been raised, then his death was not sufficient. But Christ has been raised and the cross was the all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins that was necessary for us to come to God by faith in Christ!
Dwell on this truth this Easter: the cross was enough for you and for your children.
- Are you overwhelmed by your own sinful heart that expresses itself in your parenting? The cross is enough for our forgiveness.
- Are you burdened over the sinful decisions of your teenager? The cross is enough for their rebellion.
- Are you struggling to handle conflict in your home? The cross is enough for our reconciliation.
How do we know?
Christ is risen from the dead! He is risen indeed!
2. The resurrection means the Spirit is now at work
Jesus promised his disciples that after he was raised he would send the Holy Spirit to indwell them (John 14:15-31; 16:4-15). The work of the Spirit is seen through the book of Acts in leading believers into the truth, convicting of sin, and empowering their witness for Christ.
The resurrection has brought about the empowering work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers so that they might put sin to death and experience lasting change. Paul prays that believers might know “the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead…” (Eph. 1:19-20). No sin is too great or so strong that it should cause us to despair because the Spirit is at work in the life of the believer. No sin is too great or so strong that it should cause us to despair because the Spirit is at work in pursuing sinners and drawing them to repentance (John 16:8-11).
Dwell on this truth this Easter: the Holy Spirit is at work and we need not despair over the details of our lives and our children’s lives.
- Do you desire to see God change your family? The Spirit is able to bring lasting change.
- Do you long for God to awaken a love for Jesus in your teenager? The Spirit is at work to draw hearts to Jesus Christ.
- Are you weary in the task of parenting? The Spirit is able to strengthen and sustain you.
We do not despair, but we take heart and go to work loving, serving, and sharing because the Spirit is already at work.
3. The resurrection means your parenting is not in vain
I’ve been indicating that the resurrection has implications for you as parents, but Paul sums it up best in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
John Piper explains Paul’s admonition in this way:
“‘Steadfast’ means keep on going and don’t let up. Put your hand on the plow and don’t take it off till your work is done. ‘Immovable’ means don’t get knocked over by sudden blows. Keep your balance. Stand strong and unshaken when the rains come down and the floods come up and the winds blow and beat against your house. ‘Abounding in the work of the Lord’ means do lots of it. Fill your days with things that count for Christ. Pray and dream and plan and then work, work . . . work while it is day.”
None of our labor in the Lord is in vain if Christ is risen from the dead. That means your labor as a mother or father in the Lord is not in vain:
- every late night with an infant
- every blown-out diaper
- every act of love, grace, and mercy
- every minute spent teaching a handicapped child to read or to walk
- every moment spent helping with your child’s homework
- every act of care and support
- every tough conversation
- every attempt to explain the gospel to your child
- every time you challenge your kids to consider the truth of God’s Word
- every time you entrust them to the Lord to take the gospel across the street or even overseas
- every car drive to church or small group
- every encouragement to your teenager to live out their faith and share it with others
- every prayer for your child’s future
- every mundane detail of parenting
None of your parenting is in vain!
Therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Because of the resurrection your parenting is not in vain! He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Declare and Display 