Easter.... it is a Christian holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day following His crucifixion and burial by the Romans at Calvary in 30 AD. Easter has nothing to do with today a fictitious “easter bunny”, new outfits, baskets filled with candy and etc. Truly, Easter is about remembering that JESUS DIED on a cross for you and I.
Even so, people still desire to distort the sacred remembrance and turn it into something else, a “commercialized and worldly easter” focused on rabbits, decorated chicken eggs, and spending money on more gifts that we don’t need. Even in Jesus day, people refused to realize who he was. It always amazes me that even the best of the best, the upper crust, most educated, and knowledgeable so-called religious leaders of the day could not see past their own noses. They could not even remember the Prophet Zechariah’s words as he stated, “Rejoice, your King comes to you righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey… on a colt, the foal of a donkey”. (Zec 9:9) It was right there in their own writings and teachings and yet, they could not see it as the truth unfolded before their very eyes. To top it off, here we are today with the whole story at our fingertips and still, people refuse it, ignore it, and work to hide it. My conviction is to be a person who reminds us what the truth is, the Good News of Easter.
Today is the Friday recognized as “Good Friday”, remembering the day Jesus was crucified. What he had to go through to save you and I from the consequences of sin and separation from God; scripture says that following his torture and beatings He was unrecognizable. (Isaiah 52:14) Think about that… what kind of torture would cause that? And more so, what kind of great Love would allow it? Scripture says that God so loved the world he gave his Son up for it. Love, passion, sacrifice… God’s desire in it all is for every person to have a relationship with him and to one day be in the glory of heaven.
As a hospice chaplain I regularly have conversations with people about death and what comes next. Yesterday, as I sat with a wife and daughter who were signing papers to remove their husband/father (I’ll call him Sam for this post) from life support, I reminded them to lean into their faith in Christ in their grief. With tears in her eyes the wife said, “oh yeah, Sam will be running with God soon, won’t he?” “Yes”, I responded, “because of Jesus Christ and Sam’s faith in Christ, he will have a new body like unto Christ’s own glorious body (Philippians 3:21) and your husband will be free of this world and its suffering”. With stressed, tear-filled eyes, she smiled at me and after a few moments said, “and I’ll see him again, won’t I?” “With thanks to Christ, you will”, I responded.
That’s the power of Easter my friends… the Hope we are given through Christ’s resurrection and knowing that death is not death but rather, in Christ our bodily death is just a graduation into a new eternity so glorious that we can barely imagine how wonderful it will be. With this I challenge everyone reading to set aside the “worldly easter” and recognize the True Easter; remembering the powerful Love that seeks to save you and I from our sin. We don’t deserve it, yet God’s love is not based on performance…. It is based on our free will choice to love Him with all our hearts, all our mind, and all our soul.
I pray your Easter celebration is filled with family and friends gathered around tables of delicious food and that you are all so very blessed as you do so with thankful hearts commemorating God’s love for you, Christ’s passion for you, and most importantly…. Christ defeat over death.
Happy resurrection day, my friends. God bless you all.
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