A Tiger for Easter

     Our country celebrates Easter in a variety of ways. Some do so by watching The Passion of the Christ, participating in lent, or going to a stations of the cross service. Some celebrate by hiding colorful eggs in the yard for children to find and then going inside for a delicious meal. This is one of the Sundays of the year where church attendance goes up exponentially, only to drop again by next week. In the face of such a diversely celebrated holiday, do we really know what it means? I chose to celebrate differently this year than I have in the past. I didn't have an egg hunt, I didn't have a ham like we usually do. I didn't get to see my family. Instead, I did some new things. I participated in Lent, went to church this morning and went out to eat with some of my friends from school. But those aren't what I wanted to talk about.

     Last night, I was watching the movie Rendition and I realized that the meaning of Easter can be found in as unexpected a place as an R-rated movie. This movie is about an Egyptian-born man and his family. When this man is extradited out of the country to be tortured and questioned about a terrorist act, his family is left to sort out the mess. His wife, played by Reese Witherspoon, is determined to do whatever it takes to find him and she confronts some of the highest powers in the government. There are multiple story lines here and if I tell you too much more I'll give it away (something I'd hate to do because it's a brilliant movie). However, each of the story lines end in redemption and sacrifice. The movie has many political themes, but the foundation of the film is the idea that if you love someone, you will do whatever it takes to save them - even laying down your own life.

     Jesus did that for us. That's the ultimate reason we celebrate Easter. All the things that surround Easter are possible because He loved us enough to lay down his life for us. So what do we do with that? Do we thank Him and move on? Do we become martyrs for Him? Do we try to live perfect lives? What does He expect from us?

     A few years ago, I was at a conference where John Bevere was speaking. He said something that has stuck with me all this time. He said,

 "God never asked you to live right. He asked you to die right so that He can live through you."

That thought is echoed very clearly in Galatians 2:20. The verse says, 

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

     To me, this means we lay down our own lives - our dreams, desires, plans, relationships, talents, and resources - at the foot of the cross and we follow the Lord. He loved us enough to die for us so, in return, I want to love Him enough put Him first, die for Him, and let Him live through me. It's more fun that way anyway. My dad always likens a life of following Christ to holding onto the tail of a tiger. The tiger twists and turns and you hold on, never knowing which way it will turn next. But not knowing is part of the adventure. 

    Jesus died so that we might live for Him and we die so that He might live through us.  It's not easy, but it is simple. You have to hold on with everything you have in you. So this Easter, thank the Lord for what He did for you, grab hold of the tail, and ride the tiger.

A Cage of Our Own Creation

  Eleanor Roosevelt is responsible for my favorite quote. She once said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
       I got a gorgeous bracelet that had that quote engraved on it for my high school graduation. Sadly, I misplaced it sometime within my first year of college and with my bracelet went my discipline to believe in my dreams. I have big dreams. I always have. I'm not really the typical "American Dream" girl. Not that that's bad, because it certainly has a valuable place. But I don't want to settle into a comfortable life and never accomplish anything more than that.
        In Tolkein's book Return of the King, Eowyn says that the thing she fears the most is "a cage." Her deepest fear is "to stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.” I think that what she's talking about in this passage is a certain sense of apathy. A cage becomes comfortable and normal after a time. Although it's never satisfactory, it becomes the norm.
           Once you accept the boundaries of your cage, you forget to dream. When you forget to dream, you become less disciplined. I found myself doing this with my dreams of going to Los Angeles. I want to work in the film industry, but I realized I'm not truly doing anything to get there. I've been going through school, yes, and I've been learning so many good things here. However, I haven't saved a penny. I haven't  begun to write or be disciplined in honing my skills for when I get to LA. I've become comfortable in where I'm at and have chosen not to see beyond the bars of my cage. I'm not suggesting that my school is a cage or that I don't enjoy it here. I love it. I've grown so much,  made so many valuable friendships and learned so many wonderful things. However, I need to remember that I won't always be here. I'll be set free into the world in a year.
         When an animal is in captivity for a long time and then is released into the wild, it sometimes refuses to come out of its cage. This is because the cage is all it's known. The cage is the safe place. But the cage is not where it will truly thrive. We're meant to live life to the fullest, to run through forests (metaphorically of course... unless you enjoy running through forests, then go for it!), to leave a mark on the world that won't soon be forgotten. But until we decide to dream beyond where we are right now, to decide how much that dream means to us, and to be dedicated enough to prepare for it, we will live and die in a cage of our own creation.