April 4, 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!!
Through the Season of Lent, Holy Week, and all the sequence of chapels, our hearts draw ever closer to The
Almighty in our daily repentance, devotion, and return to the LORD. After a long wait and many preparations
Christians all over the world begin today with sunrise service and all sorts of elaborate celebrations. Many also feel
“This is it, the big climax, the grand finale.”
We have our climax at Bethlehem today. As we celebrate our Lord’s glorious resurrection, we also celebrate Brother
James in his new membership of our church. We also celebrate and recognize all those brothers and sisters who
actively serve the ministry in many different ways. After all the dedication, discipline, and celebration, many of us feel
we can relax a little bit now.
I had my relaxation a few days ago as Jenny and I were invited by Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association
to their annual fund-raising dinner at Empress Pavilion, downtown LA. As always, I enjoyed their food, a night out
with Jenny, seeing again Congresswoman Judy Chu, and meeting many new friends who were not there last year.
As I appreciated the many contributions made by my fellow Chinese attorneys to the American life, I was struck by one
particular thing: the big Chinese character 義 (yi) they put on the front cover of their beautifully made year end review
and directory booklet.
In the legal community, Yi means justice. I like it because the same character also means righteousness in the moral
sense. What fascinates me is how this Chinese pictograph communicates the core biblical message of
righteousness. If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1). The
upper part of Yi, 羔, is lamb; the lower part 我 means “me”. If the Lamb of God is above me as my advocate, God will
declare his righteousness on me for the remission of my sins (Romans 3:25). For Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for
our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Easter is the grand finale in the sense that history reached its climax: Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed, died,
and was raised from the dead. Is this reality, the turning point of history, also a new beginning of your life? As we
celebrate the risen Lord, rejoice in God’s grace, wish one another Happy Easter, let us be reminded once again the
joy and reason for this season: We always have the Lamb above us as our advocate. We rejoice in this hope and
accomplishment of the glory of God: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!!
In God’s grace,
Pastor Frank
Columns Section: 世紀網站專欄區 世纪网站专栏区: 008-017 王浩 專欄 王浩 专栏 Pastor Frank Wang Column 作者:王浩 王浩 Pastor Frank Wang Frank's Monthly Pastoral: 2010 April 4: "Happy Easter " Pastoral Letter
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