Consider just some of the truths of just one chapter of just one book in the Bible, Romans 8:
...there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
...we are God's children...and co-heirs with Christ
...the Spirit helps us in our weakness
...God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose
...(we are) predestined...called...justified...glorified
What, then, shall we say in response to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
We have much to be thankful for and to hope for, no matter our circumstances!
Leading up to Easter in isolation I took more time to watch visual devotions and programming related to Easter than other years. This included devotional videos each day leading up to Easter, both by my church and a leader from the Christian school where several of my children attended. I also watched everything from Veggie Tales and a cartoon version of Ben Hur to adult film depictions of Jesus' life, and a documentary presentation of key locations from Jesus' ministry. Of all these, two stood out. One was the series of videos that reminded me of the specific happenings in Jesus' life each day leading up to and through Easter. And for me a live presentation of Jesus Christ Superstar, even with the artistic license it took and it's biblical inaccuracies, brought this time of Easter to life and touched me most. I suppose the musical depiction of the feelings of Jesus and those around him, truly brought them to life for me.
So often we learn about Jesus as the Son of God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Lamb of God, the lion of Judah...but this depiction of Jesus brought his humanity to me, Jesus the man. And it brought forward the humanity of those close to Jesus as well. Through Mary Magdalene, I could see the struggle of understanding a love bigger than the world has to offer. In Pontius Pilate and Herod I can see the addiction to power and admiration that cause so many to fall. In the disciples I see the inability to live out perfect love and loyalty no matter how devoted we might be to a person. And in the throng who cries out, "Crucify him", the true difficulty of going against the crowd is lived out. In Judas, deep regret leads to hopelessness and guilt rather than conviction, and Peter shows how fear can win out over faith. These are people I can relate to both personally and in observing those in the lost world around me.
In Jesus' humanity we see that he feels real pain--physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual. He felt exhaustion, rejection, betrayal, loneliness, abuse, hunger and thirst, loss...and all for us.
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?