I once wished someone a blessed “Resurrection Day.” He thanked me for using those words instead of simply saying, “Happy Easter.”
GrayEaster is my favorite holiday. I like it better than Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day and even my birthday. During the Easter season, spring is beginning to burst forth with new life, the weather is typically warmer, and, most importantly, it is the season for celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We can, and should, celebrate the resurrection every day – but when the holiday comes around, it is special. Our family gets together, and my wife still prepares baskets of chocolate eggs and other treats for all of them. This year will be the first Easter in 37 years that I have not led church services. It will also be our first Easter with grandchildren, and we are looking forward to it. Anne and I would not want to push the issue, but we are convinced that it is sometimes permissible for grandparents to spoil their grandchildren a little. Easter is an opportunity to do that.
The Easter season is most meaningful to me because it shouts the message: “Jesus lives!” Christians believe in and serve a risen Lord. The words of John 11:25-26 resonate with such powerful and rich encouragement for believers today. Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.”
His birth means that God became a man. His crucifixion means He died for our sins. But the resurrection means that the sacrifice of Himself for our sins was accepted by God the Father. He not only said He was the resurrection, He demonstrated it! Because of the resurrection, we can live with forgiveness, hope, freedom and real life.
The resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of our faith. Without it, we are empty and hopeless. First Corinthians 15:13-14 says, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.”
The resurrection of Christ separates us from all the other religions of the world. We are blessed with a relationship with God through Christ, and we are given the privilege to share that message of life with others. Easter is the exclamation point to everything we believe as God’s people.
I hope you thoroughly enjoy this Easter season. If you can, spend time with your family and attend church, but remember to thank God for His Son who was dead but is alive forever. Have a blessed “Resurrection Day.”