Easter is tons of fun, and I, like many people, have lots of great memories from when I was a kid of dressing up in my pretty Easter dresses, dying eggs, going on an egg hunt, good food, time with family, blah blah..You get the point.
Those things are all great, and they're a ton of fun.
But that's not what Easter is about, is it?
There have always been things about Easter that have been made commercial--the chocolate bunnies, the Peeps, the egg coloring kits, what-have-you. But I'm sad to see that it's way more commercial now than it used to be. People don't take to heart the true message anymore.
Because while it's great to see your family, to have a really good special meal, to make up an Easter basket, or to have an excuse to put on your best outfit and get a little dressy for the day, it's even better to spend the day remembering that the true celebration of Easter is the fact that we have new life because God gave up His for us.
Does that not seem like a big deal to you?
Picture this:
Think about the person you love most in the entire world. Doesn't matter who it is--it could be your mom, your sibling, your best friend, your grandparent, your child, whatever. That person is in huge trouble somehow, and they're dying. Not just they're going to die someday, but they are in the process of dying a painful death as you look at them.
It hurts to think of that, doesn't it? It hurts because we don't like to think of someone we genuinely love so much being in so much pain, and we don't like to think of our life without them.
So, now my question for you would be, if there was an opportunity for you to die instead of them so that it would take their pain away, no matter how painful it would be for you, would you do it?
And what if that person did really horrible things towards you? What if they hated you? What if they pushed you away whenever you tried to help, but this was still your big chance to help them, because despite all of the things they've done to you, you still care about them? Would you still die for them?
Well, let me tell you something: you are that dying person. So am I. Or at least, I was.
And God is the one who took that opportunity to die for us, so that we can have a chance at a new life.
And in no way, whatsoever, do we deserve that.
We don't deserve it because we have done horrible things towards Him. Some people really do actually hate Him. We've all pushed Him away before when all He wanted to do was help us, but He still cared enough to die for us.
And when He died, He wasn't just dying for the people who were alive at the time, or the people from His hometown, etc. He was dying in advance, if you will, for every single person that would ever walk the face of the earth at any time. He knew that there would just be more and more generations of people who would mock Him, scorn Him, reject His word and His people, call Him a liar, push Him away, etc., but He died anyways. For everyone who would ever do wrong.
He died for you, personally. He knew the name and every detail of every life that had been and would still come, including you, when He hung on that cross. He is the only one who could die for everyone, and still keep it personal. And He did all of that because He loves us.
So, by all means, have fun with friends and family, eat good food, and dress up this Easter. There's really nothing wrong with any of that. But without His sacrifice, you would have none of that, and we would have nothing to celebrate. So don't let all of the fun and frivolous stuff keep you from reflecting on the true meaning of Easter this weekend.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:13
"But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!"
2 Corinthians 5:14-18
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