Thaindian News

Apr 03 (THAINDIAN NEWS) In an article published on Thursday I brought you the story of amazing Love. The meaning behind the Catholic’s observance of “Holy Thursday or ‘Maundy’ Thursday can be found in that article. Today is Holy Saturday in the Catholic Church, a day which follows ‘Good Friday’, the day on which Jesus was crucified. The truth of Jesus, His sacrifice, and His love for all of mankind is the basis of all Christian faith. Without that sacrifice there would be no Christianity.

Although many different denominations have splintered off from each other, the main truth which they all hold is that Jesus died for them. Among the Catholics, Holy Week, or the week preceding Easter is the last week of Lent. The traditional reason for Lent is to prepare the believer through prayer, reflections, and fasting different things, for Holy Week when he/she will honor the sacrifice of Love which Jesus gave. Traditionally, Lent is forty days long.

Good Friday commemorates the day on which Jesus gave His life for every fellow man. Holy Saturday is the day which Jesus’ body rested in His grave. A video embedded below tells the story with song. Perhaps there are people reading this article who do not know the story of the sacrifice which was given by Jesus Christ. In my previous article I shared this wonderful demonstration of love. The sin and evil of man in the world had grown to be so great that an ultimate sacrifice was needed. A pure sacrifice that was free of sin. Jesus came to earth from heaven so that He could be that ultimate sacrifice. He knew ahead of time what He was going to experience, that the very ones whom He came to save were going to torture Him beyond imagination and then nail him by the hands and feet to a wooden cross and leave Him there until He was dead. His sacrifice of love by allowing this to happen to Himself is beyond anything which was fathomable.

Christians of every denomination celebrate and honor the days before Easter as well as the holiday itself. The story did not end when Jesus died. An overwhelming Victory was won the after Good Friday, when He died, and Holy Saturday, as His body lay in His grave. Jesus Himself was not in that grave but battling with Satan over the keys to death, hell and the grave. He won that battle, and He did not stay in His grave. He was resurrected on the first Easter Sunday, and after visiting with many of his followers, He ascended into heaven to be with His Father once again. He waits there for everyone who has accepted His gift of Salvation. His ultimate sacrifice was for everyone who has had breath since His was extinguished. The blood He shed was to cover the sin of man. If anyone wants to be forgiven for their sins and have the blood of Jesus cover their lives, He died to make that possible. The only requirements are to believe that He died on the cross for you. Pray to Him and ask Him to come into your heart and forgive you for your wrongdoings. This week is often made into stories of Easter Bunnies and chocolate, and this can be very fun, but please, let’s not forget why we celebrated Easter in the beginning. The first Easter Gift, The Gift of Salvation is still free to all who accepts it.

The gift of Salvation is so often misrepresented, but it is not about rules, regulations, and judgment. It is about the love that one Man had to lay down His life for everyone, even the ones who had Him killed. As He was dying, and looking down at those who had spat on Him, tortured Him, beaten Him, stabbed him in the side, shoved a crown made of thorns into His head, and nailed his arms and feet to a cross, which they then suspended Him from to die….as He hung between life and death watching His torturers, He offered no curses, no ill will, no hate. He only offered love with the words He prayed to God, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Many people shy away from Christianity because of the way it has been portrayed, but Jesus did not teach us to judge, just to love….