Easter is here again and with it comes the hot-cross buns, the Easter bunny, the delicious chocolate eggs in all shapes and sizes, the mega sales to tempt any credit-card carrying buyer and the coveted long week-end holiday. But in the midst of the rush, what does it all really mean?
For the Christian church, Easter is a time to reflect upon the events of that Passover week when Jesus Christ suffered a cruel death for our sins but rose triumphant from the grave three days later. Easter is about Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to bring us good news. There is an answer to our problems and a way to be at peace with God.
Jesus came to bring us life. We can experience a higher quality of life filled with purpose and meaning by living for others rather than ourselves.
Jesus came to bring us hope. There is a future and comfort even in the midst of suffering and pain.
Good news, life and hope can be yours as you turn to God, believe in Jesus Christ, and accept the free gift of his love. May this Easter be a time when you reflect on what Jesus Christ has done for you!
I wrote the following for my late Uncle about 15 years ago about Easter, so I thought I would share it with you:
Once upon a time in a distant land, a long time ago, there lived a young grain of wheat that had big dreams and ambitions.
It said, “When I grow up, I want to be important and live a life of significance, to make a difference in the world, to touch hearts and change lives for the better.”
Then an elderly grain of wheat said to this young one, “Do you have what it takes to become that grain of wheat?
First, you must be plucked from the other grains and separated from your family and friends whom you love so dearly. Then you must die to yourself and be planted and buried in a dark and damp tomb in the ground.
Many days later, you will sprout from the ground, but only to have to stand day after day under the hot and burning sun, and time after time in the cold and wet rain. When you have ripened, the farmer will put a knife to your throat and you will be cut down at the stalk in your prime of life.
The farmer will then beat you and thresh you so hard that your beloved grains will be forced apart from you. Then they will be rubbed together and it will be so painful that your very heart will be exposed as your outer husks fall off and are blown away in the wind.
All your precious grains will then be crushed under the mill stone and ground up into fine powder, so fine that even your friends will not be able to recognise them.
After you have been sifted through the fine holes of the sieve, you will be kneaded and moulded by the hands of your Master and He will change your shape and form according to His will and pattern.
Then you will be put into a burning oven, hotter than being out in the sun. It will be so hot that you will turn brown and cook. But your Master will not let you burn. And once you have cooled down, you will be cut with the knife and torn apart by human hands at the table.
And your one small life that previously seemed so unimportant and insignificant, will feed many others. It will touch hearts, give nourishment and bring new life to countless. And your children, and your children’s children will bring new hope and love to many to come.
Are you still willing to start this journey and take this path?”
Jesus, on the night that He was betrayed, took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it saying, “This is my body given for you.”
Let us always remember all that He went through, so that He could bring us new life and hope. Even now, He calls us to follow Him.