This coming Sunday evening at sunset, many of us will memorialize the death of our Savior by taking the symbols of the New Testament Passover. We will meet, quietly and reflectively, to review the meaning of these symbols, and participate, by washing one another’s feet (John 13:3-17), eating unleavened bread, and drinking what amounts to a sip of wine (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), to commemorate the killing of Jesus Christ as the perfect, sinless sacrificial Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:19; 1 John 3:5), slain for the sins of mankind (John 1:29; Revelation 5:9).

For those who are on Facebook, we know what it means to “unfriend” someone. On occasion, you will accept someone into your “inner circle” by accepting their friend request, only to find out that they are a person that you have little or nothing in common with. Maybe you knew them in college, but since you saw them last, 20-plus years ago, time and circumstances have led you down different paths.

The smoke stacks at the power plant I worked at were over 600 feet tall. We were building the coal-fired plant and we had to line the inside of both stacks with brick. There was a cable drawn elevator for hauling people, bricks, and mortar that went all the way to the top on the inside of the stack. One of the workers told me, “If you stand out on the edge of the stack on top, the wind is so strong that you can lean out into the wind and not fall.” Visions of what would happen if the wind stopped raced through my mind, but, I guess there was no real danger of that happening in Wyoming. I never tried it because I was not allowed on the elevator. But, crazy as it may seem, I always wanted to. As a young man, I was a risk-taker. It is amazing I have lived as long as I have.

Every boy looks up to his father, and when he is young, wants to be just like him. I believe that is something that God placed into boys. Boys want to be like their father, and girls want to be like their mother. Unfortunately, as boys become young men, and girls become young ladies, all too often they don’t want to emulate their parents. Why is that? Because Satan is trying to destroy the family, and because as humans we are imperfect.

This is a very special time of year. We are only six weeks away from remembering the work of us being reconciled to our Father, and the salvational work, produced by the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For those keeping the Holy Days as outlined in Leviticus 23, this time of year focuses our attention on the Passover, a ceremony that was a “shadow of things to come” (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:1). Passover represents many things, but, one of the main things it points to is Jesus Christ as our perfect Passover Lamb being sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7).

The day after Jesus Christ returns, I will be a spirit being, living as a part of God’s Family (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). I will no longer have physical aches, pains, or imperfections in my body. All of the restraints caused by birth defect, accident, abuse, or age will no longer bind me or slow me down (1 Corinthians 15:35, 42-44). I will be able to jump around if I so desire, or zip from place-to-place at the speed of thought. The first time walking through a wall instead of using the door will be really fun. There will be a lot of firsts, and they all will be fun. I am really looking forward to, the day after…

Many people I am currently praying for are facing severe trials right now. One friend just went in for surgery to have a cancerous tumor removed from his liver. That same man will have to go in again in a few months to have more cancer removed from his colon. A cousin of mine is in stage four of lymphoma cancer. Both suffer not only the physical pain of the disease that is trying to kill them, but also the fear of not knowing what will happen with the only life they have been given. Additionally, they wrestle with what it will mean for the loved ones who are left behind if the cancer takes them.