Knight Family Farm
Wallingford, KY 41093
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The Easter Lamb?
Many farmers are thought of as fairly tough individuals; calloused hands, weather-worn skin and a practicality that leaves little room for tender hearts toward the animals.
Yes, when calves are born they are usually cute. My youngest daughter had an extra fondness for one of our bulls that gave me a little concern at one point, as I knew its ultimate fate. As it matured she decided she didn’t like it as much. It wasn’t so sweet anymore, and had even become a little aggressive toward her. By the time a cow is ready for the butcher it doesn’t have any of that “cuteness” left and it’s a fairly easy task to take it in.
So I was fairly unprepared when I took our first lamb to the butcher. (I know I might lose some lamb customers here but that’s ok.) It was a very full day with several delays. I had already driven around the small town for a while with our 16 foot trailer, after realizing the butcher wasn’t where I thought it was. I was almost too late by the time I hurriedly pulled into the parking lot. With my mind on all of that and the rest of the day I was pretty distracted. I opened the trailer and then saw the little lamb at the far end of the trailer, standing still and just looking wide-eyed at me.
I felt something inside but was too focused on the task at hand to think about it much. A minute later I handed the lamb to the butcher and very soon after that I was done and walking back to the truck. Whew! It’s always nice to have the animals safely at the butcher.
The loading area was now empty and everything was very quiet. I walked back into the trailer for just a minute and could finally process what just happened. I was surprised when I broke down and cried out loud. I now understood so much better in my heart - not just my head - why God chose a lamb to be the necessary sacrifice for our sin; the significance of Jesus being called “The Lamb of God”; the ugliness of sin; the beauty and innocence of Jesus. I was suddenly so aware of my sin and was overwhelmed with gratitude for Jesus’ willingly giving himself so that I could be reconciled to God. The image of the lamb standing there so innocent and still flashed in my mind and naturally led my thoughts to Jesus. I saw Him willingly standing before his accusers, with Pilate saying he was innocent and the mob yelling “Crucify Him!”
When Jesus finally died on the cross it was the most wonderful time ever, and the worst time ever. All of creation had been waiting for that moment.
On one hand, it was so scary to think that men had just killed the son of God. Not only did they kill him, but they mocked and beat him terribly and killed him by a very slow and painful torture. By the time Jesus was nailed to the cross he had already been beaten terribly. The mother, friends and many followers of Jesus watched him suffer for hours and finally die. Their grief was unbearable and beyond words. There was darkness over the land for 3 hours during the day, and at the end an earthquake and rocks busting apart. Finally it was over, and it was terrible!
At the same time, God the father and the angels were watching intently from heaven. In spite of the pain they must have felt, I believe that as Jesus took his last breath their grief was overshadowed by the biggest celebration ever. FINALLY all of the people that God would ever create could be reconciled to him. Now all they had to do was receive God’s grace, his gift, through faith, and they could go and be with God in heaven when they die. Jesus had humbled himself by being born as a man, showed the world the true love, compassion, truth and the beautiful spirit of God - and never once sinned. Jesus was the ultimate, perfect, one-time sacrifice for everybody. God’s perfect plan to make it possible for everybody to be with him in heaven was complete. All of creation had been anticipating this moment and finally it was done! Nothing would ever be the same. Praise God!!!
There IS a God
There really is a God who created this world, including you and me. He loves us very much and wants us to be with him. Each of us has sinned, and that has separated us from God. There is nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven; we can’t be good enough. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He came to earth to offer the perfect sacrifice – himself – to pay the price for everybody’s sins. He willingly allowed himself to be crucified on the cross and then was buried. On the third day, on Easter, God raised Jesus from the dead. He is in heaven now. Some day soon he will return to earth to bring back to heaven those that have chosen to receive His gift.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Wallingford, KY 41093
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