April and Easter

If I had to choose a holiday that was my favorite I would have to pick Easter.  I LOVE  Easter.  It is my favorite holiday because of what it stands for, what all it involves, and just the pure glory of it.   So, last week, in my Easter readings,  I found myself buried in  an awesome  devotional by Rick Warren and just had to share it with you.  The scripture that he drew his devotional from was  “By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also” (1 Corinthians 6:14 NIV).

Did you know that millions and millions of Christians around the world celebrate Easter every year.   The sad part is that for far too many of us the story has become boring and rote. We have the basic facts down. I know I have since I was a small child.  I mean, come on….. Jesus was arrested. He was crucified. And three days later, God raised him from the dead.  Yet we miss something very important. We miss what turns Easter from a one-dimensional holiday to a multi-dimensional, life-transforming way of life.  We miss that the story of the Resurrection isn’t just Jesus’ story — it’s our story as well.  You see, you are a part of the Resurrection. Jesus’ death and Resurrection didn’t just prove there was life after death. The Resurrection proves you can have life after death, that there’s life beyond your grave.  Jesus says, if you trust in him, death becomes a transition, not an ending point.  I love that concept.  One day your heart will stop. That will be the end of your body. But it will not be the end of you. God made you to last forever. That’s why you often have a feeling there’s more to life than this. Jesus made this amazing promise in John 11: 25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (NIV).  That’s quite a promise! Jesus proved he could do it by resurrecting himself. Otherwise, we would have no reason to believe it. If Jesus hadn’t died on the cross and been resurrected more than 2,000 years ago, you would have zero chance of getting to Heaven — no hope of the afterlife and no eternal life.  The Bible says, “By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also” (1 Corinthians 6:14).  As Easter comes our way this year, that’s a truth to hang our lives upon. It’s great news that Jesus rose from the dead. But what turns that truth from black and white to living color is that one day — if you trust in him — he will raise you from the grave, too.  That’s the promise of Easter.  Is that not an amazing concept?  I know it is to me. 

Blessings, Karen