How to Have Easter Year-Round
Easter has come again today and will be gone again tomorrow. For many people, it is a once a year phenomenon. I remember a child whose parents happened to come to church in October. They found him out looking for Easter eggs under the bushes at the church.
I think I’ve hit on how to have Easter all year: “be thankful for what Jesus did for me every day.”
Here is what goes on in my heart in my time alone with Jesus Christ every day:
1. I remember His birth.
• Christ was eternally with the Father (Jn. 1:1). How comfortable and glorious can it be to sit alongside His throne in perfect fellowship.
• The day came when He left all of that glory and beauty behind. He entered the womb of a young woman named Mary in a dirty little village called Nazareth. She gave birth to him in a manger in Bethlehem, surrounded by poverty and animals.
2. I remember His life.
• He lived in total obscurity for almost 30 years. He remained in submission to His parents, probably working alongside His father, Joseph, as a carpenter.
• He went through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood as a single man. Through it all, He never once yielded to the temptations we all face every day.
3. I remember His ministry.
• At 30, He surrendered to the call and purpose for which He came: to serve humanity and give His life for them. He entered Jordan’s waters and was baptized by John. The Holy Spirit came upon Him from heaven.
• Led by the Spirit, He went into the wilderness and conquered the three powerful temptations we all face daily: pride, greed, and lust.
• For the next three years, He “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil.” Tens of thousands were healed, delivered from demons, raised from the dead, and fed from a small boy’s lunch.
“In six agonizing hours He had paid for my entire sin debt … as well as ALL sin of ALL people for ALL time.”
4. I remember His death.
• As His ministry came to a close, His mission loomed up larger. He had come to die. He marched toward Jerusalem and held a final meal with His beloved twelve disciples.
• He spent three hours in His favorite prayer place as He surrendered His total will to the will of God. After His arrest, He was abused and passed between the Sanhedrin, Herod, and Pilate.
• He was “stripped and whipped” for our sicknesses. He wore a crown for our curse. He carried my cross up the long, winding mountain. He laid down on my cross and received three sharp spikes through His hands and feet. His cross was dropped over into a hole. In six agonizing hours He had paid for my entire sin debt … as well as ALL sin of ALL people for ALL time.
Then, there was Easter. He rose on the third day, having stripped Satanic powers of their authority. He ascended to heaven and sat down again at His Father’s glorious side.
The good news of Easter? In God’s mind, I did all of that with Him.
That’s why I love Him. That’s why Easter is the same for me every day of the year.