There are two big holidays in the Christian world: Christmas and Easter. As Christians we use these as tent poles to remind us of the awesome work of Jesus; we celebrate his birth and then a few months later we celebrate his death, burial, and resurrection.
One of these seasons is a lot easier to get into than the other. With Christmas creep, marketers yelling CHRISTMAS IS COMING CHRISTMAS IS COMING for what seems like the last half of the year, we are told to “get in the Christmas spirit,” usually this means buy more things you don’t need. As Christians, we can use that as a reminder that the true reason for the season is to celebrate the arrival, the Advent of Jesus Christ.
This doesn’t happen as much with Easter. For some people, the only reason they know it’s Easter is because the Reese’s peanut butter hearts are now peanut butter eggs. And while those eggs are the best candy, they don’t really do much to direct our attention towards the Cross.
Easter is a time when we celebrate the most important work Jesus did during his time on Earth. His death, burial, and resurrection sealed the deal for our salvation. Second Corinthians 5:21 tells us “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus did a great work for us on the cross. He took our sins, the sin that should have condemned us, and sacrificed himself so that we can walk in the newness of life.
As we continue our journey through the Easter season I hope that you will take some time to contemplate the true meaning of Easter, the sacrifice that was made because God loved you so much that he sent his one and only son, and the difficult road that Jesus travelled to make it all possible.