During the time of Easter I have been reflecting on two things: one, that Jesus was raised from the dead to tell everyone “I am who I said I am, the way the truth and the life” and two, “I loved you enough to show you my love on the stage of the world through horrific persecution and death.” These public truths are meant to ring in our ears today. Jesus reaffirms who He is and the extent of His love. The life and love of Jesus work in tandem to give me motivation for the present and a hope for the future.
Is there a particular aspect to Easter that you are reminded of? In sharing our interactions in our meditations concerning Easter we create a panorama of personal expression that finds it unity in an empty tomb and a risen Lord.
As I saw for the second time the brutality of the crucifiction today, I was again horrified at the extent of the physical torment that Christ endured. However, all of that pain paled in comparison to what His Father did to Him as He was forsaken. God poring out His wrath on His perfect Son for my sin is unfathonable. Pondering that thought increases the love that I have for Him and makes me see how feeble I am when I don’t do the will of my Father in all areas of my life. I am truly indebted to Jesus for what He did. May my life reflect that gratitude
Easter makes all the difference. The Resurrection turns the world upside down… it takes us from death to life, from darkness to light, from hopelessness and despair to unalterable, unmitigated victory.
Someone has said you can’t really measure a tree until it’s been cut down. In Christ’s case, you couldn’t really measure Him until he rose from the dead.
Easter reminds me that God’s economy is entirely unlike our own: alien, even perverse, in this fallen world of sin and death. Christ exchanged his seat at the right hand of the Father for the wrath of the Father… he traded majesty, beauty, power, authority, glory, and splendor for a bloody, brutal, afflicted, anguished, crushing fate.
Easter puts me in my place. Yes, Christ died for me. But when viewed against the backdrop of his death and resurrection, my redemption is the seismic equivalent of a grain of sand turning over after an earthquake leveled a great city.
Easter reminds me of the title I received when I paid off my car. With the debt satisfied, I could finally say, “mine” – for a few years, anyway. With Christ’s resurrection, God says, “mine,” forever, in a way never before heard in all creation.
And we can say, “we are his” in a new way too.
Finally, Easter reminds me that this world is not our home. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.