39th EASTER

   As Easter Sunday quickly approaches it reminds me of all the Easter Sundays that have past.

It will be thirty-nine Easter Sundays for me including this Sunday. 

   I can remember as a child that Easter was all about the chocolate bunny, colored grass and the Easter basket. It was hiding eggs for my younger siblings and waiting for cousins, aunts and uncles to hide eggs for the older kids.

  Easter is always celebrated with great food. I can remember my mom’s hams and casseroles and homemade bread with a glass of sweet tea to wash it all down. Usually we had something amazing for dessert too, like key lime pie or something delicious.

   Now I’m the one, well my wife is the one buying Easter baskets and fixing delicious meals. And even now my children are almost too old for baskets and egg hunting.

  Easter really is a special Sunday. But not because of all our silly little American traditions and commercialism that we all seem to buy into these days.

   Easter isn’t special because we can all dress in Spring colors and look nice, or wear that special Easter bonnet that we will never be worn again. Easter isn’t special because everyone will be together as a family and maybe even go to church together. Easter isn’t special because of the Easter Bunny or because everybody gets a baby chicken or baby rabbit to raise. No, Easter isn’t special because of anything that you do at all.

   Easter is special because God loves us so much. God sent Jesus to be fully man and fully God. Jesus lived a perfect life, but was crucified to be our sacrifice, our propitiation for sin. We deserved death, so instead of us dying God sent Jesus to die in our place. Jesus didn’t just hang on a cross and die though, He did much more than that. He actually died and remained dead for three days. On the third day He rose from the dead, and forty days later He ascended into heaven to be our representative,  even more our intercessor.

   When Jesus ascended He promised us His Holy Spirit to be with us until He returned.

This is the Good News! This is the Gospel! This is what makes Easter a special Sunday. It is a Sunday to celebrate the fact we serve a risen King. Who is King above all Kings, whose name is Jesus, whose name is above all names. The Great I AM has loved the not so great “us’es” me and you.

I can’t remember which Easter I first understood this. But I know I must have heard it at least 14 or 15 Easter’s before I believed it. Since then Easter dress, food and time with family has paled in comparison to remembering, rejoicing and remaining in the LOVE my heavenly Father has for me.

The even better news is you don’t have to wait for Easter to celebrate this TRUTH. This is something you can rejoice about every minute of every day, no matter you circumstance your heart can truly rejoice in this truth.

   So in a couple of weeks when you find that last Easter egg, or finish off that chocolate bunny or throw away the last carton of pink peeps, remember what really makes Easter special, it’s not the purple grass in the basket that counts, not the time with family over fabulous food, or even going to church, but it is remembering what God has done for you and for me, He has loved us.