Easter, a day that the majority of people associate with chocolate and hot cross buns. A day that is the only day (apart from Christmas) that some people attend church. A day that many people look at as nothing more than an extra-long weekend.
To me Easter is so much more than that. It is the weekend that we as a community of born-again Christians all over the world remember Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins and celebrate the fact that He rose again.
I remember one day years ago, when Easter was almost upon us, my son who was about 7 or 8 at the time was chatting to me in the car. We were chatting about what Easter buns and Easter eggs represent in relation to Jesus dying on the cross and “the empty tomb”. It was at this stage of the conversation that he went a little quiet as if he was pondering something important. I waited, and a few minutes later heard a little voice say to me “Ma, because we are friends with Jesus we shouldn’t be thinking about Jesus dying on the cross only at Easter but we should be remembering it every day.” What a beautiful simple thought from a child. And he was right. I need to be meditating and thinking about this every day, not just at Easter time.
Why should I be thinking about Jesus dying on the cross every day? Simply because Jesus died for you and for me. It is because of Jesus’s death on the cross that we are able to approach God’s throne with confidence. Jesus washed us clean with His blood – our sins are no more, He took the punishment for us so that we may have eternal life:-
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 (NIV)
It is because of this fact that I am exceedingly grateful for Jesus’s sacrifice each and every day. I remember so that I never become complacent or ungrateful for what He has done for me.
One interesting thing I have
noticed about Easter time is that this is one of the times when people in my “every
day” life are more open to hearing why the death and resurrection of Jesus is
so precious to Christians as a whole. A
perfect opportunity to share that Jesus died for them too!
So, on this Easter
long weekend as I prepare myself for Resurrection Sunday, before I partake in the celebration service rejoicing in the fact
that Jesus is Alive. I leave you with a beautiful passage from Max Lucado’s book “No Wonder They Call Him The Savior” which paints a powerful picture for
us to ponder:-
“Like a master painter God reserved his masterpiece until the end. All the earlier
acts of love had been leading to this one.
The angels hushed and the heavens
paused to witness the finale. God
unveils the canvas and the ultimate act
of creative compassion is revealed.
God on a cross.
The Creator being
sacrificed for the creation. God
convincing man once and for all that
forgiveness still follows failure……………“It is finished.”
The mission was
finished. All that the master painter
needed to do was done and was done in
splendour. His creation could now come
home.”
I pray that you realise
the depth of God’s love for you during this Easter time.
References: Image: https://skiingthroughlife.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/lead-me-to-the-cross-easter-2011
Quotes:
Holy Bible: New International Version. (2011).
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan
“No Wonder They Call Him the Savior”
by Max Lucado
