The Hope of Easter

Good Friday is just around the corner. It calls us to solemnly remember and thank God for what He, out of His great love, did for us. It should also be a stark reminder of just how desperate our situation is due to our sinfulness. We were so far gone that nothing we could ever do would make things right with God from whom we had been estranged. Our sin, so serious, that God Himself in the form of Jesus, had to come down to this earth He created and die an agonizing death so that we might live.

Many spend Good Friday mourning the death of Jesus. But when Jesus' disciples mourned His death, there was no such thing as Good Friday. For them, there was nothing good about it. They most likely felt heavy sorrow, hopelessness, fear, despair, and confusion because they didn't yet fully understand everything that Jesus had been trying to convey to them about His death and resurrection. Their beloved Savior had been beaten, tortured and hung to die on a cross and they greatly struggled to make sense of it all.

Thousands of years later though, we have the benefit of knowing the splendorous outcome; Jesus' resurrection from the dead. We know that on the third day from Good Friday comes Easter, the day that we celebrate the joyful, glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through His death and resurrection, we can have forgiveness of our sins and eternal life!

For me, I will not be mourning Jesus' death on Good Friday. His death is not a loss to be mourned, but an indescribable gain to be celebrated! I will, however, be mourning my sin that caused my God to bear the agony of the cross for me so that I might live, while giving Him thanks and praise for His undying love and sacrifice. I will also be praying for those who have not yet accepted His free gift of eternal life.

Like Jesus' disciples who had no idea what God was up to that first Good Friday, this year many find themselves feeling the same way the disciples did when their world was turned upside down. The pandemic, threat of war, inflation, possible supply chain shortages, and the upside down thinking of today's society, has incited much sorrow, fear, and confusion.

No matter the state of the world, Easter is coming; the day when Christians celebrate Christ's victory over death. Many may be celebrating Easter differently again this year due to financial strain or concern over a virus, but we still have just as much to celebrate as any other year! The meaning of Easter is still the same. God is still the same. His power over death is just as alive now as it was the day He rose from the grave! Let us remember to celebrate and hold on to that hope!

"O death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 1 Corinthians 15:55

HAPPY EASTER!!

** Would you like to know more about Jesus and how through Him you can have a relationship with God? Maybe you're not sure if there really is a God or how He can help you? The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has a great website called Peace With God which can help you find peace with God today. If you'd like to know God and find His peace, click on the link here.