At church today, the primary children were singing easter songs during their singing time. Last year my 4-year-old had learned the primary song Did Jesus Really Live Again. There's a verse (if you don't have time to listen at the link I posted) that says "...and of the fish and honey comb, he did truly eat..."They sang it today, and sure enough, Jesus and my 4-year-old share a common interest in a breakfast cereal. It appears that honeycombes have been around for a long time. :)
On a more serious note, we had a wonderful speaker in sacrament meeting. The talk was about following Jesus' example through painful or challenging times.
Jesus had every reason to feel betrayed and hurt by those around him. Despite what we might view as "justifiable anger", Jesus didn't withhold his love, he didn't take offense. Jesus suffered for the sins of the world, and while he was doing that, he must have realized that some of those sins he was suffering for were the sins of those who would crucify him.
There are so many things that we can get upset about. Maybe a family member said something we didn't like. Maybe a driver cut us off in traffic. Maybe a neighbor acted irresponsibly (and noisily) when the baby was napping. In the scheme of things these things are minor. When we feel justified in returning bad behavior to those who have behaved badly toward us, we are only hurting ourselves. Withholding love from others makes our own lives less rich.
There are many things that surround us in this world, which we cannot control. We can always, and should always, control how we respond.
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