EASTER: Meditations for Addicts was written by Dr. Mark E. Shaw and Shirley Crowder and is part of a series along with the book ADVENT: Meditations for Addicts. Shirley is a co-founder of this ministry with Dr. Shaw and serves as The Addiction Connection’s Vice President. She is a gifted writer and speaker and teaches women all over the country.
Miss Crowder states that the goal of the Easter book is “to help the reader draw close to Jesus in an intimate and personal way.” Learning more about God starts with the Word of God.
This first chapter in the book is developed from two key verses:
Colossians: 1:19-20 ESV [1] “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
And…
Isaiah 9:6 ESV [1] “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Which of these names of God are you most drawn to?
The first day’s meditation asks readers to think about to which name of God they are more drawn: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, or Prince of Peace? Exercises such as this one are given throughout the book, to help the reader focus on their understanding of God’s character and their relationship with God.
Fully God and Fully Man?
God sent his son Jesus to earth as one-hundred percent God and one-hundred percent man. Had God not sent Jesus to earth, to be born and eventually to die on a cross as fully man our sin could not have been atoned. Easter would not exist, because no one else but the perfect Son of God could atone for our sins.
Thankfully, He did send his Son as fully God and fully man. Jesus physically was born, placed in a manger, walked on earth as a man, but as fully God He had no beginning. As God, Jesus could take our sin upon himself and take the punishment that we deserve having the wrath of God be put on Him. By the power of God, Jesus didn’t stay in the tomb but was raised to life appearing before many witnesses.
His resurrection from the grave is what we celebrate every Easter—God sending his Son to take the punishment that we deserve as fully God and fully man and rising again.
Can we ever fully understand?
The answer to this question is not found on earth. The hypostatic union (the fancy name for the combination of Jesus as fully divine God and also fully man) blows our minds as we attempt to comprehend it. Our human brains cannot fully fathom the complex nature of God. False teachers throughout the centuries have talked about Jesus in one extreme or the other saying He was fully a man, but he wasn’t fully God, or He was fully God, but He wasn’t really a man. However, we know both are true.
This bold proclamation of comprehending God’s love by faith is based upon Ephesians 3:17-19 ESV [1] which states:
“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
This is not saying that we’re going to know everything right now. Faith is what bridges the gap between our limited human understanding and what the Bible says. Understanding that the Bible is the Word of God and placing our confidence in Him is how we have certainty that He is fully God and fully man. Even if we don’t comprehend how Jesus can be fully God and fully man, we can know it is true.
On page 30, Shaw and Crowder write:
“But in Christ Jesus, you have a Friend who knows what it is like to be human. While Jesus never smoked marijuana or injected a needle into His arm, He knows what it is like to deal with the heart of temptation (Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13).” [2]
We’re not supposed to strive after that knowledge—trying to fully comprehend that Jesus is fully God and fully man. We rest and walk by faith. We trust God that He knows what he’s doing. Resting in that can help us with the difficulties and challenges of life. In the sufferings that we see all around us and that we deal with ourselves, we can say that this life is not to be understood fully, but we can walk by faith, trusting God, and knowing that the next life where we will be with him forever is the final destination.
And that’s the good news for this week.
Next week’s blog and podcast will focus on more good news, the Triumphal Entry.
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[1] Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.
[2] Mark E. Shaw, and Shirley Crowder, EASTER: Meditations for Addicts, The Addiction Connection, 2022, p.30.