Thursday, December 11, 2008

Love Like Joseph

I hope your Easter celebration, if you had one, was blessed in every way.

The little church where I attend is shepherded by a wonderful pastor who has that gift of helping us see how God’s Word correlates to our lives today. One of the things that really registered with me from this week’s sermon taken from the book of Luke was the picture of Joseph of Arimathea caring for Christ's body after He was crucified. There was Jesus – beaten beyond recognition, stripped naked and hung on the cross to die – a spectacle for curious onlookers. This was the most humiliating death one could imagine. Jesus had been abandoned by those who claimed to love him – alignment with Him had become too dangerous.

But Joseph took the Lord’s body off that cross; he covered Christ’s disgraced and forsaken body and placed it in a tomb to await proper burial preparation. This was a selfless, loving, and bold act.

Do we reflect the same concern for His body today?

Today the church represents the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27). When we see a brother or a sister in Christ humiliated, beaten down, defeated, how do we respond? Do we enjoy his misery? Do we turn away, too ashamed to be associated with her? Or do we cover him with selfless love and concern? Do we treat her with respect and tend to her needs? Do we care for him as if we were caring for the Lord Himself?

When those in the body of Christ are at their weakest, their most vulnerable, Joseph of Arimathea shows us how to respond.

Blessings,
Lisa

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