Pastor's Message, May 2009

There are some things in life we learn very slowly. And for sure there are a number of things that we never really understand. Unconditional love is one of them. I can understand the concept but I do not think we can grasp the impact of it until we have experienced it.

All along, Jesus has been telling His followers that God is love. He wanted them and us to know that God loves without conditions and is constantly finding ways to express that love. But it was a slow process for them and it is for us to understand that Jesus was an expression of that unconditional love. It was with Him that they finally experienced it.

Most of them had fled when the soldiers arrived to arrest Jesus. And I suspect they not only felt guilty for abandoning Him, but also unworthy to still be called a friend. When you abandon someone will they not also abandon you?

But Jesus comes back to them to share His victory over death. Standing among them, whole and alive, He simply says, “Shalom! Be at peace. I understand.”

The Gospel of Luke says that at the same time they disbelieved and were overjoyed. They believed it and they did not believe it at the same time. I understand. I trust God and I do not trust God. And that is why this is our constant prayer: “Lord I believe, help by unbelief!”

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