“My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.” ~ Rep. Hank Johnson, D-GA
“We don’t anticipate that…” ~ Admiral Robert Willard

 The above conversation occurred during the Admiral’s testimony on moving 8000 troops to the tiny island of Guam. While Rep. Johnson has since claimed to be joking, in the video he appears seriously concerned about the tiny pacific island (see below)… Thankfully we are not as foolish as members of congress, but we often fear and prepare for the wrong things.

   During Madness we did multiple service projects and one involved cleaning up a cemetery that had been abandoned. The burial company had gone out of business and it was slowly overgrown by weeds (you can see in the picture that the area behind has become a dump—that is not a single coke can, but a vending machine!). The clean-up effort has not been led by family, but by the surround neighbors who are concerned about property values. I heard more than once, if only they had paid for perpetual care (money invested for an eternity of grounds keeping) this would not be a problem, but what would that create? I can imagine the trimmed grass and blooming flowers in 100 years. But while the area looks nice and provides a job for the groundskeeper—no one will come to visit. The mourners will have long since passed away. It will be like a park that people are scared to enter…

   Even Christians—if we were honest—admit there is fear in death. And this fear is what drove everyone away at the end. Friday came and the disciples denied knowledge as they ran to lock the door. Only a few women stood with tears as the support and power of the world gave way—as the creator Himself entered into darkness and death. In some ways it is amazing the world did not tip over and capsize us all—I suppose the Devil expected as much. But the world continued and few noticed our hope was gone, that the light had gone out.

   More amazingly no one noticed when our system of life was redeemed. We slept while our greatest fear was defeated. We continued to work or play or eat… and no one noticed a new land rising, that we were no longer forced to drift slowly toward death. The soldiers present for the event were paralyzed with fear. Later the few women who had cried approached, but even then they did not know salvation was upon them.

    We miss reality. We are concerned with our own lives—with preserving other peoples opinion of us. Both for the moments today and the legacy we leave. So we build and work for things that will be overgrown and forgotten… which is our greatest fear. That we will no longer exist.

   But amidst the denial, when no one noticed, the world was reformed. Christ arose to save those who would forget Him, to redeem those more concerned with their own lives capsizing.

By God’s grace Easter has come!