From Another Point of View

TODAY: Our loving Father in Heaven, give comfort, strength and reassurance to those parents who must watch their beloved children struggle and suffer. Remind them that you are always there – with them, and with their precious children. Help us also see that the Easter story is God’s story as well as Jesus’ story. That as God was ever-present then so, too, is He today.

A few years ago, one of my sons was going through an especially difficult time in his life. Things were not going well, and there was nothing I could do to help except assure him of my love and support, and pray that, with God’s help, he would find his way out of his difficulties. I hurt for my child, but knew that he had to face and work through his problems his own way and in his own time. I was pained and frustrated as I watched my son suffer.

Shortly thereafter, while sitting in church just prior to Easter, I had a sudden insight into how God must have felt watching his son, Jesus, suffer through the crucifixion and the events leading up to it. How His heart must have cried as he watched events play themselves out, as he knew they must. Imagine how God felt when He heard Jesus’ cry in the Garden of Gethsemane, and knew that He could not take away the cup.

Easter focuses so much on Jesus’ actions and feelings that last week. But God was ever-present also. The Easter story is God’s story as much as it is Jesus’ story. Often another point of view can provide a depth of meaning and richness to an experience. From now on, Easter for me will always include God’s point of view.

— B. J. Campbell