I absolutely love, pretty much, any and every Holiday. Any excuse to take a day off and get together with family and friends will always get my vote. Obviously Christmas rates way up there on the Holiday hit list. The 4th of July with it's BBQ, fun in the sun and then fireworks always rings that patriot bell in my spirit. But for me, there is something extra special about Easter. If you are a Christian, the circumspection that it demands is very sobering.
However, it goes much deeper than that. On the grand timeline of human history, this one historical event is literally the hinge pin of not only the overall drama of mankind from beginning to end, but the individual destiny of each person that has ever or will ever live. The enormity of that is mind boggling to me. Then when I consider the Divine love the held Jesus to the cross, something explodes in my heart. But ultimately it is the power of the Resurrection that gives me hope and purpose, and that is ....
What Easter Means to Me
The history and the destiny
Of all of man kind
Revolves around this one event
So it’s important that we remind
Ourselves of the pain of the cross
And the power of the resurrection
And how the beauty of the gospel
Can change the whole direction
Of a life if one will open up
His heart to the Holy Spirit
The blinders will fall off
And his mind will begin to hear it
The story of redemption
Framed before the world began
How God would break the curse of sin
And buy back fallen man
It’s nothing we could ever work for
But a gift to be received
Eternal Life bought by the cross
Is the truth to be believed
Not posturing for religion
But a passion for the Christ
A relationship with the Savior
That will overhaul a life
So I’ve written down this little rhyme
In hopes that all will see
It’s more than just a holiday
That’s what Easter means to me
Isa 53:5 ... But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Mt 28:5-6 ... And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
It seems that every time I consider the Easter story, I am taken with another aspect of it. Whether it is the betrayal by Judas or the denial of Peter. The attempt of Pilot to get the Jews to have Jesus released or the drastically different responses of the two thieves hanging by him on that hill. And what was it about the resurrected body of Jesus that caused Mary and the disciples not to immediately recognize him as their Risen Lord? So much happened there within such a very short span of time. But then, why shouldn't there be a virtual bottomless well of things to examine and ponder in the Easter story? After all, it really is the single most important event in all of history.
