A young couple sits down to eat at a local restaurant, they order their food, and each one pulls out their cell phone. They barely say one word to each other as she sends some text messages and he checks his Twitter account and then his fantasy league. When the food arrives his attention is drawn to the 50-inch flat screen TV on the wall behind his date and she goes back to her cell phone and scrolls through her recent Facebook activity. One of the ironies about the entertainment culture we live in is that we often make mindless entertainment more important than the people we really care about. Such distraction can have a negative effect on our human relationships and it can have negative effect on our relationship with God.
A man named Herod stood face to face with his Savior and he wasted that time that he was given because all he cared about was his personal entertainment. He had been wanting to see Jesus because he hoped that he would perform a miracle. Jesus the Christ, the Savior of the world was standing before Herod and Herod couldn’t see it. He was lost in his own world of personal entertainment.
God came into this world to save us, and in his grace he comes to spend time with us in his word. Do we see him there? Are we satisfied with the greatest miracle in all of history, or are we easily bored by this story that plays so familiar? We live in a world that entertainment is pumped at us from every angle, and its full of the new, the now, the present; are we so distracted by this world of activity and entertainment that we are missing out on valuable time with our Savior? The Son of God wants to speak with us, spend time with us, but are underwhelmed by this invitation?
Our congregation, like many others, will gather for special worship services on Good Friday (March 25) and Easter Sunday, in order to see how Jesus suffered and died and rose again to pay for the sins of the whole world so that we may enjoy eternal life. Consider how you may spend some quality time with God this coming Holy Week, for this is the all-important, timeless, life-changing true story that God wants to share with you. The Son of God stands in our place, mistreated so that we would not be treated as our sins deserved; convicted and crucified so that we might be set free from sin and death and hell. Come and spend some quality time with your Savior. Hear his words of forgiveness and love. Rejoice in his glorious resurrection that gives you life!