Christians see things differently. This includes something as simple as looking at a calendar. The month of April is a case in point.
April Fool’s Day. The first day of the month reminds us to have a sense of humor. “A merry heart does good, like medicine” (Prov. 17:22). We are quick to take medicine for every ache and sniffle. Do we forget a daily dose of joy and laughter? The world is a stressful place. We can worry ourselves into an early grave if we are not careful. Being happy is a choice and a habit. We can always find a little humor if we look for it—in little routine things, in ourselves, and even in irritating people or heavy burdens we bear. Christians don’t wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful. We shouldn’t wait until April 1 to enjoy good clean fun.
Ramadan. Muslims begin this ritual on April 1 and continue to the first of May. Islam claims that Muhammed received the first revelations of the Quran during this month. Over one billion followers of this false prophet celebrate Ramadan. The main observance is fasting from sunrise to sunset. Previous generations of Americans heard little about it. Now it is in our schools and on our calendars. Sadly, too many people, even Christians, are not taking this religion seriously. Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). If this warning has ever fit anyone, it certainly describes the warlord Muhammed.
Passover. God gave this feast to the Jews as an annual reminder of His sparing the Hebrew people from the death of the firstborn in the land of Egypt. It was for the Jewish nation and was never intended to be permanent. The Passover was a type or representation of something better in their future. It is fulfilled in Jesus. Just as the Jews sacrificed a lamb and put its blood on their doorposts, Jesus sacrificed Himself as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Paul wrote, “Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (I Cor. 5:7). The law of Moses is not binding today (Col. 2:14-17). This includes the Sabbath, the new moon, or the Passover.
Tax Day. When the Jews asked Jesus about paying taxes to pagan Rome, He responded, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). Writing to Christians in the capitol of the empire, Paul said we are to “pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing” (Rom 13:6). Jews in the first century resented paying taxes to a corrupt, idolatrous government. We can relate to their feelings because of the immoral ways our tax dollars are being used by politicians. In our country, at least at this stage, we have a right to voice our opinion about the morality and legality of certain taxes, but as a whole we are to submit to the powers that be by paying them.
Earth Day. April 22 was declared Earth Day in 1970 out of concern for a clean environment. Of course we prefer clean water to a polluted drinking supply and clean air to toxic fumes. But the modern environmentalist movement has gone way beyond matters of health and safety. Now it is promoted by evolutionists and New Age pantheists and is used by politicians, special interest groups, and greedy billionaires to control mankind. Christians recognize that the world is God’s. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fulness” (I Cor. 10:26). Celebrating this day in our schools may be innocent in some ways, but the dangerous part is that it teaches children to think that trees and animals have the same value as human beings.
Every day in this or any other month is a special day for Christians. A Christian’s calendar should reflect these words: “Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever” (Psalm 145:2).
Kerry
West End church of Christ bulletin article for April 3, 2022
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