by Inside The Chrysalis

Created on: April 11, 2009

Ahhhh, Easter! What a wonderful time of year. It has a dual meaning for me...a parallelism of sorts. Signs of new life begin to appear, from the budding branches to the moistening of the earth.

Last week I saw a man mowing his yard, not that unusual, except that I eagerly look for this particular sign to indicate spring has arrived. You can say "weird" out loud, it's ok! Do you know of anybody else who looks with such anticipation at where and when they will see the first mow of the season?

I'm also reminded of the new life I've been given as a Believer in Jesus. I'm encouraged that with all my abrasive thorns, gnarly limbs and frosty appendages, I am being renewed each day by a gracious Lord.

So, on this Good Friday I ran across a beautiful painting from the hands of an artist by the name of Antonio Ciseri (you can Google his name and click on "images" to see more of his work.) The title of this particular piece is Ecce Homo (pronounced k's h'm ) and is Latin for "Behold the Man." It portrays the scene in the book of John where Pilate presents a thorn-crowned, purple-robed Jesus to the angry masses and declares, "Behold the Man!"

Did you know before this scene took place, Jesus was in the garden praying so intensely that his sweat was in the form of blood? Have you ever felt so intensely about something, so in anguish that you sweat so profusely? You and I will never see droplets of blood exude from our skin, it was a physiological phenomenon, mentioned only in the Gospel of Luke. We can, however, relate to sweat dripping as we push our bodies through physical exertion or mental olympics. But to sweat in desperation and distress...this is something I hope none of us have to go through during the regular course of daily living.

My heart is heavy this time each year when I think of how much God loved me to send His Son to die for me. I'm amazed at how Jesus endured all the pain to save me. My mind will never fully comprehend how severely difficult it was. My hope is that I can love with even a smidge or mere skosh of His love for all mankind. What a pity that I grumble over the slightest inconvenience, like my internet connection going down, or being out of coffeemate...this celebration is humbling for me.

Easter Sunday as I watch my children smile from an overdose of sugar, and visit with family I love so much, I will also try to love better as I "Behold the Man" and remember all that He did for me...and you.

Learn more about this author, Inside The Chrysalis.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.