It’s Monday and He Is Still Risen!
Do you have an Easter hangover? Did you eat too much candy or ham? Maybe like the Slattery family, you spent the day outside and have sunburn as a memorial. Whatever the residue in your house may be from Easter, I hope it is overshadowed by the fact that He is still risen.
Easter isn’t about a day; it’s about the most historic event in history.
This summer, I had the opportunity to visit the beaches of Normandy where the great invasion that changed World War II began. Appropriately, there are monuments and museums all around the area to remind us of the sacrifice of the young men who died. My oldest son is 17, and I kept picturing him climbing up those steep cliffs, facing death in pursuit of a greater cause. It made me ask the question, what if that invasion of Normandy had failed and we lost WW II? We would be living in a different world today.
The allied victory over Hitler’s Germany pales in comparison to victory of the resurrection. My friend, Jesus’ death and resurrection changed everything! I literally cannot imagine what life would be like with no Messiah, no forgiveness of sin, no freedom from bondage and no assurance of eternal life. What hope would I have to offer my children or my suffering neighbor? How could I encourage a woman who is lonely or dealing with the fallout of childhood abuse if there were no Savior who promises to be with us?
Paul once said that he resolved to preach nothing except for Christ and Christ crucified. Why? Because nothing else really matters if we don’t understand and embrace the reality of God’s love through Jesus Christ.
If you’ve been reading this blog regularly, you know that we focus quite a bit on marriage, intimacy and sexuality. I hope you also see that Jesus’ death and resurrection has greatly impact how we teach and write on these personal subjects. The cross changes how we view everything, even sexuality!
Jesus has invited those who follow Him to relive Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday over and over again. Every day presents the opportunity to choose death that we might live. Paul wrote to the Philippian church, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”
What does this look like in your life? Today you have the choice to live according to your own desires or to submit to the Lord. Your life is either about you or it is about God. Your marriage is either about what you want or about what God desires in and through you. Your sex life is either about getting your way or seeking the Lord’s way.
What we often forget is that there is no Easter without Good Friday. We can’t know the power of God if we are unwilling to put to death our own sinful desires. However, when we choose to take up our cross and follow Him, there will always be a resurrection!
Today as you go to work, interact with your children, and pursue love in relationship, please take a moment to ask how has the resurrection of Jesus Christ changed you? What hope do you now have that is only possible because of Easter?
