Hello Friend!
Happy Easter! Easter is my favorite, y'all. Augustine got it right when he said, "We are an Easter people, and alleluia is our song."
Amen to that.
For us who believe, Easter is so much more than new spring dresses and chocolate bunnies. It's more than overflowing baskets and egg hunts and marshmallow peeps. It's the most important part of the Christian faith. It's central to the gospel message.
Without the resurrection, Jesus Christ is just another dead prophet. Without the resurrection, death wins, and we are hopeless. Without the resurrection, we who call ourselves Christians are most unfortunate indeed (1 Corinthians 15).
Thank God for the resurrection. Because Christ has been raised, we are confident that death doesn't get the final say. Life wins, and we have hope for a future where there is no more death, no more tears, no more pain. There will be no more sickness or suffering or sorrow.
And that, my friends, is what Easter is all about. It's the first ray of sunshine after a dark, dark night. It's the preview of the main event. It's the assurance we so desperately need that everything is going to be OK after all.
And so today, I wish you a Happy Easter. May the joy and hope of that first Easter morning flood your hearts today and every day from now until eternity.
"Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live." John 11:25
Because Easter is a season, not just a day, we've selected John 11:25 as our verse of the month. Death has no hold on those who believe in Jesus, and that has implications for our everyday life. Jesus has invited us to live fully alive not just in eternity but in the here and now.
What does it mean, truly, to live? We'll spend this month working through it together. I hope you'll join us (on facebook or instagram) as we explore Jesus' call to live a resurrected life day in and day out.
Jesus is alive. Let us be fully alive as well.
Until next time, grace and peace.
