Sunshine Notebook by Abigail Rater

The Storm Before the Calm

“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

John 19:28-30

This is quite possibly the lowest point in all of the New Testament, if not the whole Bible. It certainly looks like it, at any rate. These were Jesus’ final words, His last breath that He took while hanging on a tree like a common criminal. This was the Savior everyone had been waiting for. This was the One everything had been leading up to. And He was dead.

It seemed that things couldn’t get any worse, and the truth is, they didn’t. Things didn’t necessarily get better right away, either, though. At least not for the believers. Jesus’ body was taken down and preserved, and He was sealed away in a tomb for three days. That was when the light began to shine through. Many of us know the story; Jesus didn’t stay in the tomb. He didn’t remain dead. Our Savior rose from the grave to new life, not only atoning for our sin through His death, but defeating death itself in His resurrection. This is the entire foundation of the Christian faith, and yet it wouldn’t have been possible without the cross. Without the blood and scorn, and the utter injustice and hopelessness that was felt that day, we’d never experience the miraculous life that we see today. Often, this is how God works. The lowest lows lead to the highest highs. He uses sinful people and painful circumstances to bring His people to exactly where He wants them to be, and we can be sure that, “. . . In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

We go through scary and painful things every day. These issues aren’t as dramatic or world-changing as Christ’s death, but they often follow the same pattern on a much smaller scale. Whenever you’re tempted to feel discouraged or hopeless, just remember the cross. God always has a plan. Sometimes it hurts to get there, but the end result will always be worth it.

The Picture of Hope

It was the very beginning.

All was perfect,

Like a beautiful Van Gough,

Until the fall.

God gave His people a choice,

Good or evil,

Purity or defilement.

They chose to sin.

Like black splotches

Blanketing the canvas,

We are all tainted.

Anyone who has ever done wrong

Is an evil sinner.

No matter how small the deed,

However many good things we’ve done,

It doesn't matter.

You are an evil sinner.

I am an evil sinner.

Every person

Ever to live,

All sinners

Except one.

Long ago, a Child was born

In a manger,

A humble birth for a king,

For the King,

The Son of God,

The Artist coming to restore His painting.

It was the second beginning.

That Child,

Christ,

Would become our Savior.

Justice says that

Sinners deserve to die.

Mercy says that

We're no longer sinners.

Christ took our sin,

Forgave it,

And died to pay for it.

All we have to do

Is trust

In Him

To be saved.

I will be saved.

You can be saved.

Death came from sin,

So Christ defeated both.

His grave is empty.

Now He is in Heaven,

The unspoiled picture.

I will meet Him there one day.

Will you?

Living Hope

Why do we celebrate Easter? Obviously to honor some random bunny who hides colorful eggs full of chocolate. Makes sense, right? Ok, so that story is pretty random. If you aren’t a fan of creepy bunnies (how does he hide said eggs? Weird.), you might say that the holiday is about spring, growth, and new life. This is a lot closer to the truth, anyway. For Christians, Easter is a day to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection after dying on a cross for our sins. I want to share how I depicted that important message in my painting.

What you probably noticed first in my picture was the cloud near the center with a red outline of a heart on it. Most hearts we see are red. Why? Well, I don’t know if this is a real reason, but it clicked for me: blood is also red, and blood can represent sacrifice. Hearts of course mean love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 says this about love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” The best kind of love is sacrifice. Jesus loved us so much, despite our sins, that He gave His blood for us. He sacrificed

himself so that He could die for our sin in our place. That’s real love. John 15:13 puts it clearly, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” I used the first cloud to represent that.

The second cloud, near the corner, is wrapped in some sort of ribbon. This is supposed to be like the wrappings Jesus was buried in. They are wrapped around the cloud because, well, they aren’t on Him anymore! Jesus was more powerful than the grave. He rose again! We read in John 28:6, “He is not here; he has risen!” In verse 12 of that same chapter, “Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.”

Finally, there is the sun in the other bottom corner. You may be thinking I just really like to paint sunsets. Well, I do, but that’s not all. It can be a sunrise, too. Thinking of it that way, it represents a new hope for a fresh start. Because of what Jesus did for us, we can have new life. To quote 1 Peter 1:3, the verse Dad used in his sermon this morning, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Maybe that’s why we celebrate the resurrection in spring. The sun also represents the Son, as in Jesus, the Son of God. He rose from the dead to give us light in this dark world. It represents the Son’s ascension to heaven, as well. Finally, if you look at it like a sunset, it could represent the end of the world. It will be beautiful for those who are saved with heaven waiting on the other side. Psalm 16:11 says this: “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We only have that because of what Christ did for us, and because of His power.

So that’s what Easter is about, not sugar rush or oversized bunnies. It’s about new beginnings because of Jesus’ sacrificial love for us and His power over the grave. It’s about the joy we have in heaven someday, and about Jesus waiting for us there now. The words that really stuck with me from Dad’s sermon this morning are “living hope.” That’s what we celebrate today. As Easter comes to a close, let’s try to remember that every day throughout the year. I’ll leave you with this verse: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”—Isaiah 53:5