The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1961-03-31
Our Living Lord
Lesson for April z, 1861

Jesus CnT1St Is not q HISTORICAL
character In the same way thai
most such characters are. Fol-
historical characters are by def.
milton figures out Of the past
Whether the revived character
or the image" of him that is
now cherished. resembles the
historical character is always a
dead and gone character. But
Jesus Christ is radically differ
ent. He is not dead and : gone
He did die. to be sure; but He
rose again from the dead. as
millions Of Christians will be say.
ing and singing this Easter
morning. Yet this is not the last
word about Him. His rising-again
in Joseph's garden was far away
and long ago. The strange and
most significant truth about
Jesus Christ's resurrection is that
He has risen over and over
again-in the hearts of those who
love Him.
From Sorrow to Joy
Jesus Christ is q living person,
our contemporary. one with
whom we can speak in prayer
and high moments Of meditation.
People outside the Christian re
ligion do not always realize this,
that Christ ID as wen as was
that what He is and what He
wants and what He approves are
questions to which we can find
answers. He is a person Of the
present and future. not only OF
the past. And not present as a
mere ghost, a haunting spirit out
of an ancient tomb, but a vivid,
vital. present person. Have you
ever known people whose very
entrance into a roomed seemed
to change the climae2 Jesus
was and is that kind Of person.
What kept happening during
the forty days after the first Eas-
ter has kept happening since. The
disciples after Calvary were in
the depths of a grief close kin to
despair. A darkness deeper than
Good Fridays darkness at
noon" had settled over them. But
after the first shock of the Eas-
ter discovery that their Friend
still lived. all the shock and sor-
row were turned to joy. So it is
wherever Christ comes into a
life. The darkness fades, the sun
comes in, tears are bitter no
longer.
From Doubt to Faith
If the story of Mary Magda-
lene illustrates the change from
grief to joy in the living Pres
ence of the Lord, the story Of
Thomas illustrates a passage
from doubt to faith. Now there is
something we need to remember
about Jesus appearances after
the Resurrection that may help
US with the story Of Thomas. It
is often supposed that various
people saw Jesus after the resur.
rection. and because they saw,
they believed. As a matter Of
fact. a study Of the four gospels
is likely to convince the reader
that it was the other way around j:
Jesus did not appear to people
to make them believe in Him; on
the contrary, there is no record
that He ever appeared to unbe-
levers such as Caiaphas and
PLATE and the Roman soldiers.
Was Thomas an exception? On
the face of it. Thomas was an
unbeliever. yet Jesus appeared to
him. Wait a moment = let us
straighten this out. Thomas was
me said an unbeiever in the
resurrection, but he was a be-
lever in Christ. He believed
enough to be there with the dis
ciples the Sunday after Easter.
He was ready to believe. reader
than he thought, as the story
shows. He had doubts. yet he was
still in heart a disciple. So the
living Lord to this day turns
doubts into faith - it happens
somewhere every day Of the
world.
Disbursement to Devotion
With Simon Peter it was still
another kind of story. He was a
disciple and a believer in the
resurrection besides. But it did
not at first seem to make much
difference with him. He went on
back to Gallee. to the old IA
niliar fishing grounds. to the
old familiar Job. For Peter, as
for some today. Christ had to
knock twice to be heard. No true
disciple can face the risen Christ
In personal faith and say. 80
what?" The living Lord says
still today to all PARKWAY be-
levers: DO you love me? il.
Feed my sheep" -. -. $3.50.
Biased on outlines copyrighted
by the Division Of Christian Edu-
cation. National Council Of the
Churches Of Christ in the U. S. A.
Released by Community Press