Approaching Easter

 There is not one verse by itself that can combine the emotions that are wrapped up in the following days. Joy, hope, despair, fear, pain, humiliation, and most of all love. Today Christ will meet with his closest friends in an upstairs room; they will break bread, share wine, and declare the New Covenant. Later Jesus will pray for his life to be spared. Ultimately tonight he will be arrested, and the beginning of the end starts for Christ.

As we go through the weekend I have one question that I would like you to not only meditate on, but to ask others. Do you believe in Easter? We live in a very flippant world, we accept war in this world as inevitable, we spend a trillion dollars and never even blink, we see sin, death, and destruction around us, and we allow ourselves to become numb to the images. Sadly, many do the same with Christ and their faith. Ask if someone believes in Jesus, you will get a quick "sure", ask if they believe in Easter, and you will most likely get the same "of course" without a second thought. In this world of instant access everything; do we slow down enough to really reflect on the sacrifice that Christ made for us?

I encourage everyone this weekend to recount the next 4 days. Gather your family around and spend some time really reflecting on the last supper, the trial of Christ, the crucifixion, and the greatest moment in the history of the world, the resurrection of Christ. Take the time to look at the human side Christ, the betrayal, the fear, the pain, the isolation, and the joy that Christ experienced. Christ did not want to die for us, He knew it had to be done, but he asked on three different occasions for God to provide another way. Could you make that choice? Would you lay your life down for the world? It is easy to say yes until the guards come to take you away.

Sunday will be filled with hunting eggs, and baskets of chocolate. Don't let the day slip away without giving thanks to God. Christ rose from the dead on Sunday; he defeated death, and became a one-time blood sacrifice for everyone of us. Do not let that fact slip by or be brushed aside and filed with the egg dye for next year. Sunday we will remember that we all have a chance at a new life, an eternal life. We have gained access into the family of God, and the brotherhood of Christ. We have been blessed with this because of Christ and the sacrifice that he made. Sunday is a new beginning, let us use it as such. On Sunday recommit yourselves to Christ, He defeated death, may we all resolve to defeat the chains of this world, so we might all see the hope, the love and the light that is Jesus Christ. May we all say a whole hearted joyous YES if someone asks us if we believe in Easter!

God bless! And Happy Easter!

- Brian Thetford