From the Director’s Desk – April 2011
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Hello to you All!
And a very happy April. Spring weather is coming any minute now (I hope!). I also hope you have all signed up for Camp Connections. We may be able to squeeze in two more guy campers into session two, but that is it for that session. There is plenty of room in session one, so if you are still hoping to bring a friend, by all means!
April can be a little frustrating. The snow is going, but it’s still quite cool, and except for very brave tulips, nothing is growing quite yet. In April I do notice odd little patches of green grass coming to life depending on where the sun hits them during the day. April this year is also the month we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It might be easy to take that whole thing for granted. Hey, it happened 2,000 years
ago, more or less. There are crosses everywhere, and we Christians know this event happened, and well…, Jesus is God, so anything makes sense for Him. This month we should take some time to really think about what that particular event meant to the world and us in particular. I love reading the end of the gospel of John and right straight on into the first few books of Acts. At the end of John, Jesus is talking to disciples he has worked with for 3 l/2 years, people he has loved, taught, demonstrated who he was to. However, he is talking to disciples that have denied him, and even is asking “the disciple that he loved most” (John) whether he loves him. Acts is a different book of the
Bible, but it does talk about things that were happening only 50 days after Jesus death and resurrection. The same guys are front and center, but who are these guys? We see men that are strong and confident, and “get” who Jesus was, and what his death and resurrection did for them, and the world. They weren’t afraid to speak truth in the very city that killed Christ, only 5 plus days after that event.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ changed the future for all humanity past and present. In that one moment death was “overcome”. We no longer had to die, with that being the end of our physical lives. We are human, flesh, and are made to sin. We do things that keep us away from God. But we are given the chance to admit that, and admit
that we needed Jesus to die, not just for all humans in general, but for us in particular. If we were the only human being ever, Jesus would have still had to die.
The other exciting thing about the time Jesus died and was resurrected is that it gave us hope. This year has been a rough one for us here in Montreal. Many have lost loved ones. Every single service to honour those people has spoken of the hope we now have
that death is not the end. We can, based on the words in the Bible. In I Corinthians
15:51-52 it says “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised…, and we shall be changed”.
We have a promise. The dead in Christ will be changed. When my father died, this was a promise that I relied on. For those that have lost loved ones this year, you can rely on this promise. In God’s time, the dead in Christ will rise, and will be changed.
Let’s use some time this month to not only think about the fact that school is coming
to an end, the snow is going, new plants are beginning to grow, but also the love God demonstrated for each of us, when He, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, chose death of Jesus on the cross in order that we might live. We wish for you and amazing and personally meaning celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection this month.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
With our love to you all!
Lynn and Dennis Lawrence
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