WHAT IS THE COST? 4/24/11

I REMEMBER Mr. Ellett, my pastor; friend and mentor,
not to mention my friend Iona Kay’s, father. His presence in the pulpit remains with me today. On Easter our little church sanctuary was filled to overflowing. He would rent the highschool auditorium which held at least, if not more than a thousand; and it would be filled to capacity. It didn’t matter where Lawndale’s Easter service was held, Mr. Ellett always shared the same object lesson somewhere in the service.

HE WOULD hold up an ugly, dirty, shriveled up lily bulb. He would talk about it as though it had been alive and was now dead. With death comes the ugliness of the flesh and subsequently rottenness and decay. The only good thing for death was to bury it in the ground because “All flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.” Job 34:15 God’s word says that the dust of man returns to the earth but the spirit returns to God who gave it.

“ALL FLESH is like grass, and it’s beauty is like the flower of the field. However, the grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are like the grass.” Isaiah 40:6-7 Grasses and flowers fade and die! Man was made from dust and to dust he returns when he dies. This is where Mr. Ellett places the dirty, ugly bulb into the dirt and buries it!

HE THEN tells again, the story of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. He reminds us that as the criminal on the cross, when we, who are followers of the way die; we too will find ourselves in this place called paradise. Some call it the 3rd heaven and some just call it heaven; Jesus is there! The piece of resistance is when Mr. Ellett holds up the beautiful lily in all it’s glory and splendor. He reminds us that this glory will replace our dirty, shriveled up ugliness of the flesh in death and give us a life of beauty and grandeur.

ANOTHER one of my early memories was the Sunrise Service. A group would go up into the beautiful Palos Verdes hills and find a knoll that jutted out into the ocean where the waves would come slapping up against the rocky sides filled with dirt, rocks and roots which held it firmly in place. It was exciting to get up very early Easter morning and head to the church. Load up in many cars with our hair up in pin curls or rollers, which were covered with bandana’s. We all wore heavy coats with scarves and gloves to protect us from the morning chill especially as we neared the morning ocean winds.

WE WOULD sing songs like “Up from the grave He arose;” “He lives!” “Christ the Lord is Risen today!” We would hear the beloved story again how Jesus was buried in a rich man’s tomb guarded by a huge stone and the kings soldiers. We saw once again the women coming to finish the burial preparations. I wish then I had known the song “I’ve just seen Jesus!” Every time we hear this story of Christ, I always feel that I have just seen the Lord again; face to face!

WHAT EVER church you regularly attend, be sure to enter those doors this weekend. Be sure to ask your neighbor, friends and family to share in this precious memory once again. Be sure to go with your heart ready to receive your Savior once again, and renew your mind. Don’t forget, God’s love for you is so great that Jesus accepted the cost and paid the price so that we can be freed from the bonds of sin. So we can hold our heads high knowing the debt has been paid. We have moved out of our rental owned by Satan and into a new house where Jesus is the “live in” landlord.

“THANK YOU Lord for saving my soul! Thank you Lord for making me whole! Thank you Lord for giving to me; thy great salvation, so rich and free!” I can’t imagine a life without Christ! I can’t imagine a family that did not share in my beliefs. I can’t imagine no Christ; no God; no Savior! However, I can imagine knowing Christ, knowing God and knowing my Savior. Christ the Lord has risen; He has risen indeed! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 4/24/11