Focusing on the Resurrection

Easter eggs, pretty dresses, cute suits, pastels, family dinners. All fun parts of Easter.

They are also distractions. Don't get me wrong, I think it is absolutely a-okay and even good to do all the fun traditions at Easter. God wants us to celebrate the risen Savior and celebrate Him WELL! However, humans are so easily distracted that we get wrapped up in taking the *perfect* photo and forget to thank God for the gift of salvation. We get so focused on curating the *best* Easter baskets for our kids and forget to teach them about the One who bore our sins and conquered death. We get so focused on hosting the most magnificent Easter dinner that we forget to praise the Heavenly Father who gave His only Son so that we might live with Him eternally.

Easter is this Sunday and I want all of our hearts to be focused on the right things. I want us to be sober with the realization of what Jesus experienced and dance with joy at the victory He has won.

Let’s take a brief look at the Easter story to get our hears ready.

"And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:33-34.

After Jesus was mocked, beaten, spat upon, and dragged His heavy cross to the Hill upon which He would die, the final straw came. The physical pain was unbearable but He bore it. however when His own Father had to turn his back away from Him as the sin of the entire world filled Him, it was too much. Jesus remained silent through interrogation and torture, but once God had to forsake Him, He cried out. The weight of our sin and the pain of being forsaken crushed Him. The burden Jesus carried on the cross was not light.

"And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39

As Jesus breathed His last breath, the man who had watched Him die, perhaps even with joy and pride, realized the weight of what had just occurred. He had just witnessed the death of the Son of God. Not only had he been a witness, but he had a hand in it. Every knee will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. Even those who mocked and beat Him.

So far the weight of Easter is heavy. Our hearts break that Christ had to endure that for US. It is because WE are sinners that He died. The grace and love He had for us because we deserve to be on that cross yet we are not. We deserve to be beaten and forsaken for our sin but we are not. Because Jesus took our place and died for US. Whew. What did we do to get this kind of love? Nothing. That's just how good God is to us.

"And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him." Mark 16:2-6

Praise God that Jesus walked out of that grave! Praise Jesus that when the women came to anoint Jesus' body they did not find Him. Praise God that He arose! Jesus overcame it all. He endured it all, the 39 stripes, the ripped out beard, the spit, the humiliation, the mockery, the painful death, being forsake by His own Father, because He knew the end result. He knew that through His death He would conquer Satan and win the Victory. He knew that through His death He would bridge the gap between mankind and God. He knew that through His death He would open the gate that would allow us to be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity with Him. Jesus knew it was worth it. He knew that He loves us and He knew that God's will was perfect.

This Easter I pray this truth sits with you. It is not because of anything we've done or ever could do that God offers forgiveness, grace, mercy, and holiness to us. It is only always because of Christ's sacrifice for us. This is why we celebrate this Sunday.

This is Easter.

Grace.

Mercy.

Love.

Forgiveness.

Justification.

Redemption.

Life.

VICTORY.

As you prepare for Easter this week I pray that you will read the story in your Bible a couple of times. Meditate on the simultaneous weight and freedom of this week. God is good to you and He is good to me. Let’s praise Him for that. Let's celebrate the victory we have in Jesus.

Take the photo, make the basket, cook the dinner.

But first: read and teach the truth of Easter. Praise the Father. Believe and walk in victory.

Happy Easter. ✝️