Easter Sunday

What does Easter mean to you?

I've always enjoyed Easter more than Christmas. Think about it...Christmas wouldn't mean so much, if it wasn't for Easter, would it? But which holiday do we put more emphasis and excitement into?

Why do we spend so much time and energy observing the birth of a man, the Son of Man? Yet, in comparison, we hardly give passing notice to His "rebirth" from the grave. School children are normally dismissed for two weeks to observe Christmas, but Easter might get two days, if they're lucky.

Easter, to me, embodies so many notions of renewal. Our world is undergoing a renewal at this time of year, as new green growth and joyful flowers erupt from the heavy strength of winter's grip, as if they were straining against it for so many months. And in the midst of it all, we have Easter, when our Savior escaped the even more oppressive grip of death. It's so plainly written all over everything we see happening around us right now.

But our for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere see a different picture. Their world is slowly receding into that winter sleep. Perhaps for them, Easter brings that promise that in a few months their world will also be restored.

Whatever Easter means to you, I hope that you understand what happened a couple thousand years ago. Women approching Jesus' grave were met by a man gowned in light, asking them why they'd even come down there. Hadn't they heard from Jesus himself that he would rise again? Didn't they believe? Or were they so much like us today, sitting back listening to the words, but not realizing the promise they contain?

I lost a good friend on Good Friday this week. He's leaving behind a wonderful wife and a handful of great children. Yes there is sorrow and mourning to be had as we approach his funeral. But what is the promise? He's alive even now, not on this earth, but in Heaven. I wondered after I received news of his death, what sights and celebrations he must be marveling at in Heaven as Easter approaches. But you know, I bet every day in Heaven is Easter. Every day the angels and hosts celebrate a RISEN savior. We're not compelled to worship a statue, or a book, or a person. We're called into a relationship with a real person.

I picked a good week to read The Shack. It's all about the triune God, in all three of His countenances, wanting and seeking a RELATIONSHIP with us. Not a superior/inferior, master/servant type of relationship. But one that is as real as those we enjoy with our friends and family.

What's Easter all about? What does it mean to you?