Celebrating the Resurrection

Continue celebrating the Resurrection every day!

It’s not a”one and done” deal. Reflect on memories but keep it’s importance in the forefront of your mind.

Do you have Easter memories from childhood?

I looked forward to the Easter basket with chocolate and jelly beans. We dyed eggs with fizzy tablets in vinegar.

Mom usually sewed a new dress for me, complete with a handmade hat. She liked the Irving Berlin song “The Easter Parade,” especially the line “in your Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it.”

I liked the song, but not the hat. But I wore it on Easter Sunday anyway, along with the pretty dress and new white patent leather shoes.

Church was extra special on Easter, with lilies in the sanctuary. The choir processed in to the majestic sounds of “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” As a child I didn’t grasp the meaning of the worship service, but enjoyed the celebration of joy, none the less.

After church, I dropped my scratchy hat in the closet. I was done with it.

Everyday life continues after the celebration of Easter. We move on to the next thing, like me tossing my hat in the dark closet until next year.

What difference does the Resurrection make?

Will we remember the lessons from this world changing event?

Now, as I reflect on the actions of God at the first Easter, I begin to understand more. I am in awe of the redemption plan.

• The Resurrection proves God’s love for us.

God did not leave us alone in our sin. He resolved our sin problem through His love. Jesus died as an atonement for our sin, which He did out of amazing of love for us.

John 3:16  says

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.

• The Resurrection brought forgiveness.

Enduring the pain, Jesus spoke forgiveness of sin for all of us.

In agony while on the cross Jesus spoke in Luke 23:34

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

But it is our decision to accept His forgiveness through our humble repentance.

• The Resurrection completed Redemption’s plan.

Old Testament law demanded continual sacrifice for redemption. In the new covenant, salvation is complete through the provision of the perfect sacrifice, Jesus. Sin has been atoned for; sacrifice no longer has to made because God loved us so much that He provided the sacrifice.

Hebrews 10: 18 says

And these (sins) have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

• The Resurrection brought us triumph over death.

We do not have to fear death. We can look forward to a future in heaven because of the Resurrection. Sin and death were conquered through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.

Before his journey to the cross, Jesus gave these words of hope:

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. John 11:25

• The Resurrection demonstrated the power of God’s grace to bring us back into relationship with God.

The sin barrier that separated God and man was removed.  We can approach Him through confession and repentance.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 says

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting mens sins against them.

Be in awe of Easter, every single day.

Linger on the blessings that are ours because of the Resurrection: God’s love, forgiveness, triumph over death, redemption, and grace that unites us with God. There are even more blessings that we’ll see in heaven.

I enjoy the chocolate and jellybeans of Easter, but they’ll soon be gone. Easter looks different these days, but the Resurrection joy is still present.

Thankfully, I no longer have to wear an Easter hat.

The world was changed forever on the first Easter morning.

The power of the Resurrection lives today.

We can live as Resurrection people, full of hope.