Written by: Lauren Zawatski
Lately I’ve been learning more about God’s faithfulness, even in spite of our human tendency of forgetfulness. Take the Israelites, for example. Not long after God delivered them out of the hands of their Egyptian oppressors, miraculously parted the Red Sea, and began to lead them into their Promised Land, they began to grumble and complain, even wishing that they were back in the land that they were desperately pleading to leave. How quickly they forgot the journey that God had taken them on! Yet He always saw them right where they were, and knew exactly what they needed. Before celebrating Resurrection Sunday last week, I had the privilege of observing a traditional Passover Seder with students and leaders from the youth ministry where I serve. This was the first time I had ever experienced a Seder meal, and as we went through the process I was struck by just how much God does see. As we read through the original Passover story, I wondered to myself why, if God is all-seeing and all-knowing, would He ask the Israelites to slaughter a perfect lamb, take its blood, and then cover their doorposts with it to signify that their houses would be “passed over” from the coming death of all the firstborn in Egypt? He obviously knew how to distinguish between the Israelites and Egyptians...He created them, after all! Then, I had a realization. This practice was not for the Lord’s own sake. It was for theirs, and for ours now. Exodus 12:13 says that the blood “shall be a sign for you...” and one verse later, that the day of Passover itself will be “a memorial to you...throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as an ordinance forever.” The Lord knew when He created us that we would be easily forgetful, so instead of getting frustrated about our weakness, He faithfully gave us ways to remember who He is and what He’s done. He knew even before He delivered the Israelites that they would quickly forget what He would do and how He would care for them, so He gave them a concrete way to remember - a means of bringing their attention back to Him. The best part is that this still applies to us today! We can celebrate the Passover as a means of remembering who God STILL is, and all of His faithfulness in our lives. And as Christians today, we can remember that we now have the blood of the eternal Lamb of God, Jesus, covering us now and forever.
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