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Even at my age, it is rewarding and fulfilling to learn how to do new things.  Granted, some things that I attempt turn out better than others, but the possibility of a less than desirable outcome does not keep me from trying. 

One of my attempts at something new was tapping threads into a piece of metal so that I could put a screw into an old cooking pot that we have had for many years.  The handle cracked badly and the screw that held it on broke off inside the piece that it attached to.  The only remedy that I had at my disposal was to drill out the old screw and tap new threads in order to replace the handle.  Sounds like a job I could handle.

With the purchase of my tap and die set, I went to work on the project.  It worked out pretty good and the new screw went in alright, but it did not quite meet my requirements.  I decided to make the new threads a little deeper into the protruding block of metal on the side of the pot.  By now resistance was increasing as I turned the tapping tool while applying more pressure.  I remained determined to get it just right.  However, things did not go as planned, and without warning there was a snap as my new tool broke off inside the metal that I was threading.  There was not enough of the tool exposed to grab hold of and back out, so I was pretty well dead in the water as far as that project was concerned.  There was no fixing what I had messed up.

Later on I devised a new plan which would hopefully solve the problem.  That plan included the purchase of another tool for the job (There is always an excuse to buy another tool even if I never use it!).  But by then I had pretty much lost interest in completing the repair, so that will be a job for another day–maybe.  With the purchase of new supplies to repair what is broken I might be approaching the point where I have spent enough to buy a new cooking pot!

When doing repairs there are sometimes several ways to accomplish the task, but when it comes to our spiritual need, there is only one acceptable means of fixing what is broken.  That is, there is only one way that sin can be forgiven and the hope of going to Heaven gained.  That solution is through trusting in Jesus Christ.  We are instructed in Acts 4:12 regarding the necessity of believing upon Christ for eternal life that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (New International Version).

As we celebrate and rejoice in the resurrection of Christ, we must never forget that He came to set us free from the captivity of sin.  Freedom is a wonderful gift to experience, and it becomes even more precious when the freedom is not earned, but purchased by another.  Christ paid the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross and He rose from the dead in victory to make the gift of eternal life available to all who will believe on Him and accept by faith that which He has provided for us. 

During this season of Easter celebration, let us all keep the focus on Christ’s sacrifice for us and remember that it is because of His resurrection that we have the privilege of surrendering our lives to Him and being released from the imprisonment of sin and its devastating consequences.  Even though we will be forced to celebrate in different ways this year than in the past, His love remains the same and the truth of His resurrection is as real and beneficial as it has ever been.  Christ is our only hope, but He is all the hope we need. 

Have a blessed Easter!