Palm Sunday. The day we remember the throngs of people who worshiped Jesus as they waved palm branches, shouting, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Yet it wasn’t long before these same people were shouting, “Crucify Him!” How could their adoration so quickly turn to hatred? I expect it was a combination of being disillusioned (expecting Him to wipe out the Roman empire) and being easily swayed by their peers (listening to gossip and believing the lies that were beginning to circulate).

In the last number of years, we’ve seen quite a few public figures denounce their Christianity. Not due to persecution or being mocked but because they wanted to live their own lives. Maybe they discovered that God was not who they thought He was (a genie perhaps?) or perhaps they got tired of playing a game that they had played all too well. I’ve seen people begin to doubt their own faith when someone they looked up to apostasizes. Friends, it’s important that we not be content with meeting Jesus. Take the time to get to know Him! Learn who He is, what He is like, and what He requires of His followers. Don’t be that person who sings “My Jesus, I love you” one week and then declares the opposite the next.

As you think about the week leading up to Christ’s cruficixion, I encourage you to think about everything that He went through up to and including the Cross. Sometimes I think Christians skip over the cruficixion to get to the resurrection, but it is His blood that was shed for our sins. Not so we would keep sinning but so we would be free from sin. If we realized the agony of His suffering, I expect that we would become more serious in striving to be children that He would be blessed to call His own.