C.S. Elston

Author, Husband, Home Cook, Fan

What’s so good about ‘Good Friday’?

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Most of us are aware that Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus. So, shouldn’t we be mourning rather than celebrating? Shouldn’t we be sad and full of sorrow rather than glad and full of joy? This was something I had a hard time understanding when I was younger. But, as I’ve matured in my faith I’ve come to realize that Good Friday is good specifically because it includes all of those emotions.

I have seen the movie “The Passion of the Christ” numerous times and I have yet to watch it without weeping. The images of the only perfect, sinless human being brutally beaten, mocked and painfully executed do induce much-warranted grief. After all, it was my sin, my inability to obey God’s laws, that put him there. I was hopeless until Jesus hung on that cross. We all were. Which, means, we’re all to blame. So, we should feel that sorrow. It’s what 2 Corinthians 7:10 refers to as godly sorrow.

However, the fact that Jesus loved me so much he willingly submitted to such horror also fills me with godly joy and gratefulness. The best part is, it was for all of us. Even the worst of us. It was for the criminal who hung on the cross next to him. It was for the Apostle Paul who, before he was the Apostle, was Saul, the ultimate persecutor of those who loved and followed Jesus. It was for me. And, it was for you. There is no greater love than what God has already shown to each and every one of us and that, coupled with the promise of death’s ultimate defeat that we’ll celebrate on Easter Sunday, is what makes Good Friday so good.

What the World Needs Now

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After seeing the title of this post, you’re probably singing “is love, sweet love” in your head. Or, maybe you’re not keeping it inside and you’re belting out the 1965 Jackie DeShannon hit to either the delight or severe dismay of those around you. Perhaps you’re by yourself, in which case I say go ahead and belt it out. I’ve convinced myself that God loves the sound of my voice, even if no one else does. I’m sure the same is true for you.

Love, sweet love is synonymous with how I would finish that sentence with or without the song. After all, God is love. And, we’re not seeing enough love these days, are we? The culture seems to be in a state of chaos. It seems like there’s another school shooting every other week, another terrorist attack just as often, and we’re in danger of adding more wars every day. Yesterday it was with North Korea, the day before that it was Russia, and this morning it’s Syria. Dare I even mention that the current political climate has the United States of America more divided than ever?

So, what is the answer? Border Walls? Gun control? Mental health mandates? How about our spiritual health? Let’s take it back to love. Let’s take it back to the cross. Why? Because I whole-heartedly agree with both William Barclay who said, “Jesus’ coming is the final and unanswerable proof that God cares” and the late, great Billy Graham who said “God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’”

I look to the cross and there is nothing that anyone can say or do to make me believe that God does not care about the chaos in our culture or that He does not love me in a very personal and direct way. He’s already proven it.

So, why don’t more people see it that way? Well, quite simply, we’ve pushed him out of our lives. We’ve put ourselves on the throne where He rightfully belongs. We see it all around us every day. Sadly, even often at church. Therefore, I would argue that it is our spiritual health that is in crisis and if we can fix that, everything else will fall into place.

Obviously, we can’t remove sin from the world. The world will be restored but it will be God that does it. Which is all the more reason to look to Him now. We need a revival. We need repentance. We need to make holiness and righteousness our primary goal. We need to put God back on the throne of our lives and, by extension, our culture.

I am convinced that with true, Christian revival would come a drastic reduction in murder, terrorism, war, racism and the indiscriminate shouts of hatred toward others that we see on the news every day and night.

Respect for God means we respect what God respects and love what God loves. God is love and He loves each and every one of us. That means that if we would wholeheartedly turn to God and changed our lives to reflect our love and respect for Him, we would almost automatically love and respect each other. If we respected each other, we would stop breeding hatred and, ultimately, stop killing one another.

In other words, passing all the laws in the world can’t do what turning to God can do. You might say, what the world needs now is Jesus, sweet Jesus. Perhaps now more than ever before.

Defining a “Christian” Novel

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I’m continuing to slowly rollout my answers to questions in an interview I did on Twitter back in November for #MounceChat / #HealthyFaith. This week’s post is a short but sweet one. A writer from Montana named Carol Buchanan asked me, “What defines a ‘Christian novel’?” Here is how I responded:

I’m sure it is defined differently by different people. For me, a Christian novel represents Christianity in a positive and honest way through character development and storyline and points people to the truth of God.

Someone whose primary concern is the marketing aspect of the literary world would tell you that it is definitely a genre of its own. But, for me, as the writer, I would say it’s the spirit that pervades the story. I don’t think there’s a strictly right or wrong answer. But, the latter is where I land.

Adding to my answer from back in November, I’ll just say that I don’t believe all of my own work would be called “Christian” by Christian film/book marketers and/or sellers although I also know that some of it certainly would be. However, I do believe that all of it represents Christianity in a positive and honest way and points people to the truth of God. I’m sure of this because I know I write honestly and from the heart and I have personally witnessed the power of Jesus Christ to change lives.

The more mature I become in my faith, the more that truth will reveal itself through my writing because it becomes increasingly intertwined with who I am. If you’re writing honestly, who you are shows up on the page every time. So, if you’re a true follower of Jesus Christ and you’re writing a novel from a heart transformed by the Holy Spirit, you’re writing a “Christian” novel whether or not you set out to do so.

The Reason for the Season

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By now, most of us have heard that Jesus was more likely born in early fall than on December 25th and that many of the popular customs associated with Christmas actually pre-date the holiday and were probably adopted from winter solstice celebrations by pagan populations that later converted to Christianity. We also know that we’re supposed to be full of “Christmas cheer” for three or four weeks as winter settles in but, instead, find ourselves yelling at each other in parking lots, spending money on things we can’t afford and tackling strangers in the toy aisle at Walmart. So, what exactly are we celebrating and why are we celebrating it?

When in doubt, take it back to the basics and refuse to get caught up in the minutia. Regardless of when Jesus was born, the miraculous thing is that the Word became flesh. What does that mean and why does it matter? One of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis, put it this way:

“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”

~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Let’s look closely at the specifics behind Lewis’ statement. And, to do so, let’s go straight to a modern translation of the original source material. The book of John begins by telling us this:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

~ John 1:1-5, English Standard Version

These five verses are packed with life-transforming information. First, they tell us that the Word was both with God and was God from the very beginning of everything. Second, they tell us that the Word is responsible for all of creation. Third, they tell us that the Word contains the life that is the light of humanity which is not overcome by darkness.

From the Garden of Eden to the moment of Jesus’ birth, humanity had proven over and over again that we could not overcome sin on our own. Left to our own devices, we were headed for death. We were headed for eternal darkness. We needed the life that is the light that would not be overcome. The light that is only in the Word. Later in that first chapter of John, God showed us mercy and gave us that light:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

~ John 1:14, English Standard Version

Lewis stated the importance of this event for us with precision:

“The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this.”

~ C.S. Lewis, Miracles

The birth of Jesus Christ is the single most important event in all of human history. God became man. Feel the weight of that statement. The Creator became the Creation. The highest being in existence descended into a world he created perfect because it had since been infected by sin and he knew that the sacrifice he was making was the one and only way to redeem it, to redeem us. We needed . . . and still . . . We need Jesus!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

~ John 3:16-17, English Standard Version

 

Our good friend, Lewis, put it this way:

“In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity . . . But He goes down to come up again and bring the ruined world up with Him . . . “

~ C.S. Lewis, Miracles

Praise his name! Fake tree, real tree, no tree . . . Who cares? All that really matters is that the miracle of Christmas is absolutely worth celebrating. The God of all creation loves us so much that he came down in order to take us back up with him, where he always intended us to be! And, even in a crowded shopping mall parking lot or the toy aisle at Walmart, the miracle and the meaning of Christmas should absolutely fill your heart with joy. It sure does mine.

And, it is with that joyous heart that I wish you all a very merry Christmas!