The End Justifies the Means

Easter. Resurrection Sunday. New life. Death defeated. Freedom from sin. Hope restored. Promise fulfilled. Wounds healed. Empty grave. Victory over suffering.

[my 'life' tattoo from John 10:10
a reminder on my wrist from
Jesus' nail-pieced hands]

This week has been a fairly reflective Passion Week, following a rather uneventful Lenten season. Today, something about the resurrection struck me differently than it has any other Easter Sunday: the end justifies the means. The resurrection made the cross worth it. Jesus defeating death made the suffering of the cross worth bearing. The victory of the empty tomb healed his wounds. Joy. It was a horrible way to get there, but Jesus did it.

Today I was praying, surrendering again our adoption journey...the suffocating time line, the list of unknowns, the years of having an empty baby room, the confusion of these months on the wait list, the wonder of "gotchya day". And once again, in a way only the gentleness and power of Jesus can do, I was struck by how the end will be worth it. And not just the end of our "gotchya day" when our 2 little Ethiopian kiddos will become Diaz's, but the end of this life. In a moment, I got crystal clarity again about the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth through our adoption process. Once again, the means to having a family became worth it...oooh, embraced even.

Thank you, Jesus, for the power of the cross and what it accomplished. But thank you that you were able to defeat death. Otherwise, the means would have never been worth it. You are good to unpack the resurrection in a thousand different ways to your children.