Easter: guardian of our souls

1 Peter 2:21-25  NLT

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.  22 He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.  23 He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered.  He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.  24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.  By his wounds you are healed. 25 Once you were like sheep who wandered away.  But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.

That phrase, guardian of your souls, digs deep in to my heart.  But lets begin with our understanding of humanity.  Each of us has a soul.  The question is have we allowed God to fill our souls.

Easter is coming.  Just a few days from now our calendars, our churches and even our thoughts will be help by what God has done for us.  The suffering was real and not fiction.  Walk through those verses for a few minutes.  Hear the exchange, His life for ours.  Feel the pain, His wounds for our healing.  Notice the gravity of the punishment of sin like a huge mortgage, making our debt paid in full. 

His suffering, leading to Christ’s death on the cross, was cruel and extraordinarily painful.  History recounts and the Scripture reminds us of how gruesome his beating and death was.  One verse says that His body was so beaten that He could not be recognized.  Why was that?

For me.  He died for me and for you.  He exchanged His perfection for our imperfection.  His death led to His new life and ours bringing about the possibility of becoming the guardian of souls, now and for eternity.

A guardian is one who looks after another.  It is something like a bodyguard but much more important.  A guardian looks the well being, the growth, the emotional stability of the one they are set to guard.

Jesus chose to be our guardian now and forever.  As you celebrate Jesus this Easter spend time realizing how important it is to have a guardian of our souls!