"I am the way, the truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
Jesus' own words as recorded in John 14:6
Okay, so as Easter rolls around in 2020, the world is the midst of a pandemic. We are in unprecedented times. Here in the U.S. most if not all of us are in a state of lockdown. Many people can't work, their jobs and livelihood put on hold for the supposed greater good of limiting exposure to the Corona virus. Me, my job continued, but the odd thing was that the very night that the governor of the state of Washington shut our state down -- I developed flu like symptoms. Woke up at 10 p.m. feeling sick, finally by 12 a.m. I called a medical advice service and was advised to "self isolate". Been out of work for three weeks since, BUT I just got a NEGATIVE, COVID19 test, so now I'm going back to work starting on Monday. In the interim I penned a new script, SO GO BACK & GET HER: a romantic comedy.
For the past 3 weeks this script has helped keep my spirits up. How could it not? It's a romantic comedy, which by definition alone should be a spirit lifter for it calls on its scribe to be funny -- or at least attempt to be.
But as much as I love writing, writing does not define my life. God does. No matter what station of life you find yourself in, God is the ultimate judge of your works. I just hope that somewhere along the line I got Him to laugh. Yeah, what's the crazy kid from Bonney Lake doing...? O yeah, he's writing something in an attempt to lift people's spirits. And that's what Easter is all about; lifting people's spirits! We celebrate Easter tomorrow, and that's the day that we celebrate Jesus conquering the grave, ushuring in a new era of man's relationship to God. No longer bound to the Old Testament's way of doing things. Of man following a set of rules in earnest attempt to follow a set of rules to be on the Holy Father's good side.
The Ten Commandments are a good thing. (ref. Exodus 20: 1-17) But Jesus accomplishing ALL of our works for us, is a better thing. What it means to be a Christian means to have Jesus' sacrificial death be a substitute for our dead works. Now well all have done good works; things we are proud of. Things that are in accord with how God wants us to act in society with one another. The deal is, that's what the Holy Father wants the most. He wants us to be reconsilled with Himself through the sacrifice of His Son. Jesus is. The way. The Truth. And the Life. It is all through Jesus that God wants mankind justified. Not through our works alone.
Just last night, on Good Friday, my mom wanted us all to watch the 2nd half of JESUS OF NAZARETH as a family together. Originally she wanted us to watch Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, but I talked her out of it. For my money JESUS OF NAZARETH (1977: TV mini-series) was the best, and most honorable, depiction of Jesus' life that has ever been made. And I still hold to that conviction, and as a part of church outreach while living in Boise, Idaho in the mid 90s I went door-to-door trying to give people a DVD that had the life of Jesus depicted on it.
Jesus was unjustly punished by the Jewish leaders of his time, who really saw Jesus as a threat to their control. And He was! Jesus always will be a threat to the tyranny of man. Why? Because He does the will of God faithfully. ALL. THE. TIME! He lived the life that the Holy Father wants us all to live. A life of perfect communion with Him. How did Jesus do this? First, He knew God. He knew the Old Testament and the INTENT of it all. Secondly, Jesus prayed a lot. Read the gospels and you'll find that Jesus oftentimes went off and prayed to the Holy Father. This was important because during His life on Earth, for Jesus had a lot of pressure on Him. Some people wanted to make Him king, so their Jewish nation could be free from Roman occupation. Other people wanted more signs and wonders performed. Still others were drawn to Him, and wanted to be part of what Jesus was doing, though good intentions of their heart; they were true, earnest believers.
So this Easter celebrate the One who is the Son of God. The One who did carry our burdens, though we considered Him afflicted and hated by some men. Jesus is worthy of all power, honor and praise for what He did. I cannot imagine leaving Heaven to come to Earth and suffer at the hands of barbarians like He did. Maybe you have never stopped to think of it like that. Jesus: the true Son of God; suffered at the hands of evil men / barbarians. But He did! The great thing about Easter is that it leads to a brighter day. The true way to the Father through life in the Son.
So this Easter consider the Savior. You don't have to be afraid of death or when your life on this Earth ends. One of the theifs on the cross asked Jesus just to "remember him" when Jesus came into His Kingdom. And you wanna know what Jesus said in return, "This day you will be with Me in paradise." Luke 23: 42-43.
You can have all the money in the world, live in the lap of luxury; but even if your treasure is here on this planet, even that wasn't meant to remain forever. Jesus is forever. He will judge the living and the dead. So be one of the living! Put your faith in Him, and be saved. Being saved isn't hard. It means putting your faith in the One the Holy Father intended you to put your faith in all along: Jesus of Nazareth, His One and only Son.
So as I switch off one project and refocus on what I hope will be my opus, the Thars series; I take a moment to lay my gifts before the cross. I chose Jesus above my gifts. For in the end it is not my gifts that define me, but how a LOVING GOD does. I cant' help myself, I love to explore stories and see what becomes of them. I am a writer. Have been a writer for a long, long time. But that's the end of my story, my walk with the Lord. In this Easter season, I, E.C. Henry take a break from my pursuits to acknowledge man's ultimate pursuit; the pursuit of God! That pursuit begins and ends at the cross. Who is Jesus of Nazareth? For me He is the Son of God. The One who takes away all my sin and shame. The ultimate giver of joy.
Years ago when I was writing COWBOY ALIEN DIARIES, I thought I was gunna die. I just this sinking feeling that I wouldn't live long enough to see this screenplay to completion, and I really wanted to complete it. That story was about how the son of a pastor relocates his new family to the Colorado frontier in the 1850s. There his family gets visited by aliens at night, who one by one abduct the children the protagonist's new wife had with other men. It was the story of the testing of a man's faith. It was one of the better screenplays I wrote. True, I'm happiest when I'm writing a rom-com, but COWBOY ALIEN DIARIES was fun and good stretchhhhing of my writing abilities. To the glory of God I've written A LOT of screenplays since then. Explored some light-hearted subjects: goofballs in love; and some more weighted subjects like a woman's rejection of the gospel and her dissent into succumbing to the pressures of life and going on a shooting spree at her job. I don't shy away from subject matter. E.C. Henry doesn't write "bunny stories".
This Easter, though, I take a moment to say, "Thank you, Jesus." Thank you for giving the freedom to explore varied subject matters in writing. The heart of man is deep. And I'm not just patting myself on the back here. ALL people have this depth. And we don't all have the same gifts. Stan Dewitt, one of our next door neighbors is good at home repair. He led us on pulling our well a couple times now. Dude just knew EVERYTHING to do. Had skill I couldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. But that's the beauty of life. Not all are writer. Not all are great actors. Not all are great at home repair. Not all are entrepreneurs that fuel the American economy. God gifts all differently. But in the end, we all judged the same:
What did you do with My Son?
That's a scary reality if you have not found peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. So this season, in the great turmoil around us, take a minute to honor Jesus. Tell Him that you love Him. Tell Him that you are grateful for what He did. That's really not too much to ask, now is it?
He has risen! He has risen, indeed! I served the God of the EMPTY tomb! Hallelujah!