7 Evidences of The Upside Down

You'll have to wait till sometime next year before getting more of The Upside Down, which Netflix introduced to us back in 2016. However, as we gear up for Easter here in a few days I've been thinking about The Upside Down that the world was introduced to back in around the year 30.

As we celebrate Easter we remember Christ's death, His torture and crucifixion as a sacrifice to pay the price for our egregious errors, and His resurrection, which secured our faith. These events  ushered in one of the greatest Upside Downs in history. Here is what happened.

1. Life Became Death
2. Perfection Became Putrid
3. Light Became Darkness
4. Security Became Unsteady
5. Separation Became Invitation
6.  Death Became Life
7. Failure Became Excellence

Life Became Death

Jesus is Life. He does not merely have life or is the incarnation of life. He IS Life. He even said "I am ... the life." He is the author and originator and giver of life. All life comes from Him and is sustained in Him, and yet, Life died. Life was killed. Life was robbed of life. Life forsook Life. Life took on Death, and the world was turned upside down because Life had become Death and death, for a moment, reigned supreme.

Perfection Became Putrid

When Life took on Death, that which was absolutely perfect, flawless, spotless, the very definition of those qualities, inherited the flaws, imperfections, guilt and blood stains of the world, and every vile, putrid piece of filth that would ever exist was shoveled on His back. He became so repulsive that He literally could not even look at Himself and turned His face away. In every conceivable way, Perfection became Putrid, mired in filth, and then died. "He made Him who knew no sin to BE SIN for us."

Light Became Darkness

At this same time the light went out on the world. I mean this in a metaphysical way, hope, for many was extinguished in an agonizing betrayal and execution, but also in a literal, physical way. The light of day was transformed to darkness for a period of three hours, in the middle of the day, roughly noon to 3 p.m. Whether this was a solar eclipse, a case of nature mourning, just as Christ said it would testify, or the manifestation of the Light of the World being snuffed out, covered and extinguished, the result was that Light became Darkness, and everyone took notice. 

Security Became Unsteady

Again, this came in both a metaphysical and quite literal way. For those who followed Christ, who had devoted the past several years of their life to Him, their world was falling down around them. Their friend, son, brother, teacher, leader, king and God was hanging lifeless from a tree and their foundation for their lives was cracked, not to mention their own lives now hung in the balance. They had no sure footing, they had no sure anything. Whereas days before they were secure, confident, at the front of a movement that would change the world, now their whole world was shaking, and they were falling. And, again, this was the case literally as well, as a massive earthquake shook the ground. As the cornerstone and foundation broke, the earth shook at the event.

Separation Became Invitation

Life became Death, and Death did what Death does best, it destroyed. It extinguished light, cracked foundations, soiled perfection, but sometimes things need to be destroyed to be reborn. One of the foundations that was destroyed in this moment was the religious foundation and law that had become inflated and subject to hypocrisy. In the temple, there was a room, the Holy of Holies, in which the presence of God resided, and which was inaccessible to all, save the High Priest, once a year. In essence, God was separate from humanity. He was inaccessible, under penalty of immediate death for anyone who dared to approach Him. Yet Jesus, once again, flipped this entire system on its head. His coming marked God approaching man, becoming man, living in the midst of man, and upon His death, the very veil of separation that was so foundational to the established religious system was torn in two. The separation was removed, and in its place, and invitation to approach God, to come into His presence to have a relationship with Him. Separation became an Invitation.

Death Became Life
Up until this point, these have all looked at the Upside Down that was revealed when Christ died, but now let's look at what happened when He rose again. At His death, Life itself became Death and "death, for a moment, reigned supreme," but it didn't last long, and in the moment that Death overcame Life it signed its own death life certificate, for what happened next was that Life, which had become Death, became Life again, and brought with it all of death. Christ rose from the dead and walked out out of the tomb, defeating and transforming Death for Himself and everyone who would accept His invitation.Then, as if to definitively confirm that Death had become Life, hundreds or thousands of the dead in the city also walked out of their tombs, but this wasn't a case of The Walking Dead, with crazed zombies running everywhere, for they were not dead, but Death had become Life.

Failure Became Excellence
Upon His death, Christ, perfection, became putrid and filthy, but in so doing, he tore the veil of separation, and upon His resurrection He smashed the hold of Death, and opened the door for us to become something unimaginable "we might become the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God in Him." Before this moment we were that which was flawed and stained and failed, yet in this moment, with this Upside Down, the opportunity and invitation was opened for us to become "morally right, justifiable, excellent" in God's eyes. Deity sacrificed Himself for failure so that that failure may become the characteristics of Deity. Not that we may become deity, mind you, but so that we may be made excellent, and pure before God, that we may be His righteousness, that our lives and actions and relationships may be a light that shines His glory.

And so, Life became Death in order that Death may ultimately be defeated and become Life. Perfection became Putrid in order that the Failed may be made Pure and Excellent. Foundations were shattered in order for a new covenant to be built and the true foundation to IN HIM."
be revealed. The Upside Down came, but this Upside Down didn't bring demogorgons, it brought an invitation to Life, and, in that Life, a challenge to turn your life upside down, be transformed, do the crazy to accomplish the impossible "