Brad Wilcox - Because of the Christ on Calvary

2020 The Brad and Debi Wilcox Family Trust

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Deseret Book Company, at permissions@deseretbook.com or PO Box 30178, Salt Lake City, Utah 84130. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book Company.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

CIP data on file

ISBN 978-1-62972-748-6

eISBN 978-1-62973-937-3 (eBook)

Printed in the United States of America

PubLitho, Draper, UT

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Book design Deseret Book Company

Design by Shauna Gibby

To my friend Russ Greiner,
who joined the Church at Brigham Young University,
served his mission in Wyoming and Montana,
and has tirelessly taught about Christ
and His gospel ever since.

Contents

Acknowledgments

When George Durrant was asked why he wrote books, he answered, I am just a better person when I have a book hatching. I have found the same to be true for me. Writing helps me live and worship more consciously. I am indebted to many who help in my book-hatching process. Thanks to my wife, Debi, and our family for their patience, support, and love. I especially appreciate my son David and good friend Brett Sanders for taking time to review the manuscript despite their busy schedules. Thanks to Cody Sanders, who helps keep me going.

I appreciate Sai Maddali, Crystal Anderson, Jenny Reeder, Ryan and Silvia London, and Evan Wilkinson for allowing me to share their amazing stories. Thanks to President Jeremy and Sister Jenny Guthrie of the Texas Houston South Mission, who told me about Evan Wilkinson, and to President David and Sister Deb Checketts of the England London Mission, whose purpose statement for their missionaries gave me the organizational structure I needed for this book. Thanks also to Lisa Roper at Deseret Book for being my wonderful product director, advocate, and friend. I also appreciate Tracy Keck, Shauna Gibby, Breanna Anderl, Kenny Hodges, Guy Randall, and the rest of the Deseret Book team. In addition, hats off to Erin Hallstrom, KaRyn Lay, Danielle Wagner, Jasmine Mullen, and Colin Rivera for all the good they do at LDS Living .

Finally, thanks to longtime friends and colleagues at Brigham Young University: Timothy G. Morrison, Camille Fronk Olson, Brent L. Top, Sandra Rogers, JD Hucks, and Bruce Payne. They have all influenced countless livesincluding mine.

Introduction

I have celebrated the Holy Week and Easter in Africa as a child, in South America as a missionary, and in Europe when my wife and I directed a study abroad program there for Brigham Young University. I remember smelling incense in the Coptic Christian churches in Ethiopia and watching processions in Chilean streets in which people carried platforms on their shoulders holding statues covered with flowers. I recall people carrying palm leaves on the streets of Spain in preparation for Palm Sunday. I love the fact that so many people worldwide remember Christs suffering, death, and Resurrection. Still, many others do not know or care.

My wife and I exited a subway station in a large and crowded city. We saw representatives from a church standing near a nice display of their religious literature. I greeted them, but no one else even glanced in their direction. A few blocks later, we encountered a man waving a sign that said, Hell is real. Dont go there. Accept Jesus now! I smiled at the man, but everyone else ignored him. Our missionaries often get the same treatment. It is almost laughable to see the lengths to which some people go to avoid talking with a person wearing a plaque. People appear to have no interest in God, Jesus, or religion. Nevertheless, they all desire a better life.

As sure as an inborn moral compass, there is an upward reach within us. Deep inside, people want something better for themselves and those they love. Immigrants and refugees move across the globe, and parents seek better jobs for themselves and better education for their children. People search for health and happiness. The problem is that they blow off anyone who proposes that God and religion are a means to reaching their goals. They want a better life, but not God. They want happiness, but not religion. They have yet to connect the dots and realize that the only one who can truly satisfy their upward reaching is the King on the cross, the Christ on Calvary.

Christ is a title as well as a name. It is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah and means Anointed One (see Bible Dictionary, Christ). Calvary is the place where our Lord was crucified. It is the Latin translation of the Hebrew word Golgotha , meaning a skull or place of the skull (Bible Dictionary, 611). Taken together, the words mean Christ was anointed to suffer and die for us, and by choosing to do so, He brought hope to everyone who has ever longed to do and be better.

At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus stood in the synagogue in Nazareth and read from Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings (61:1). Surely, His listeners had heard others read the scripture before, but now Jesus added, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears (Luke 4:21). In other words, I am the source of the abundant life you seek. I am the Anointed One of whom I just read. I have power to heal and help you. I am the Messiah, the Christ. The people accused Him of blasphemy and tried to kill Him, but that did not change the truth of His words. Latter-day Saints testify that in the premortal existence Jesus became the one anointed of the Father to be His personal representative in all things pertaining to the salvation of mankind (Bible Dictionary, 59293). To that end, He died for us on Calvary (see Luke 23:33).

Our covenant relationship with Christ allows for a fullness of hope! That hope is the message of Easter, and in a world that is increasingly apathetic about God and religion, Easter matters more than ever. People can call it spring break if they want, but Easter will eternally be about the Christ on Calvary. It is the day that changed everything. In this book, I invite you to consider what you really want most and then connect the dots: It is only as you believe in God and have faith in Christ that you might with surety hope for a better world (Ether 12:4). Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, taught the Savior, and all [else]... shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).

Let us deepen our appreciation of the Savior and His grace. Let us peel back the layers of His Atonement and reflect on how it applies to us personally. Let us consider the witnesses of Christs reality, past and present, and stand in reverent awe at how that reality can change our worship and discipleshiphow it can ultimately change us.