The Shield ONLINE Roger McCort

In a world dominated by Empire, can a poor man from a distant province get justice from the highest authority in the world? Yes, he can!

That's not exactly what's happening here, though, is it?

Or is it?

We are celebrating the International Day for Children and Youth by taking a few minutes to examine the story of how one group of young people decided to respond to a difficult situation.

When the big things are out of your control, will making the small changes you can to stay close to your God make any kind of difference?

People tend to confuse "justice" with just getting what they want. What do most people want? To hurt people who hurt them. Is embracing the idea of retribution going to help us attain justice?

Today we look at Paul on trial, the reality TV vibe of scripture, secret motivations, and what justice and injustice looked like in one situation so that we can understand how best to seek justice in our own lives.

The people knew Jesus was a miracle worker, casting out evil spirits, healing the sick, even giving sight to people who were born blind! So when someone they love died the obvious question was, "Why did you let them die?"
Death stinks. There are no words of comfort or solace that change that fact. Even Jesus wept because of the pain and loss brought on by the death of a friend, and he is the one person who actually had an understanding of the bigger picture.
What do we choose to do when we know that? What CAN we do?

Paul is losing his life of freedom and privilege. And he's threatened with losing his life altogether! But somehow he is going to respond to all that as if it is meaningless. It's like he's got some secret which allows him to be content in even the most chaotic and dangerous of situations...

Want to know what that is?

Easter eggs are hidden in movies, on purpose or by accident, to give thoughtful viewers something to find and think about, or something to notice and wonder about. Scripture is rife with the same kind of gems waiting to be uncovered! 

Today, as we celebrate Resurrection Sunday, we're going to look at a couple of these and see if they can bring us at least as much joy as a few colored eggs and jelly beans do.