So What Exactly IS Easter About?

I am feeling a bit sad this Easter. Not because of the solemnity of the death of Jesus but because Good Friday passed without much of a thought from me....I was in the hospital last night having another sleep study...so there was no church service or any time for uninterrupted prayer or deep thought. My family is not getting together in any way for a meal, nor are we going out. Instead, it will be just another day for us....marked only by an Easter basket for my 18 year old daughter, who doesn't care much about the REAL Easter; and a church service for me in the morning.

But none of this really is hitting the nail on the head which will describe the real reason for my sadness....this is all peripheral stuff. My real sadness is because of the detachment of my heart around the real meaning of Easter. It is not about Easter bunnies or baskets, or anything like that...but everyone really kind of knows that....So then, what IS it about? What SHOULD it mean to us, especially to those living in the kingdom of Christ? Is it about dying to ourselves? Is it about service to others as I've heard another blogger suggest?

I think that these things are the RESULT of the REAL effect that the resurrection has made on us. The Bible says, "Christ died, so that we might LIVE,... and walk in the newness of life." Yes, it was a happy event for the friends of Jesus, when they saw him alive again after his crucifixion. Yes it is great that he overcame the power of death. But really, why is it so happy for us?...other than it being the happy ending to a sad story?

It's because it was NOT the end of the story. Because of Christ giving his life, the power of death and sin was broken; the curse was lifted; man was made a habitation that the Spirit of God could dwell in after Christ ascended forty days later; we are no longer compelled to sin and if we do, we do not have to offer blood sacrifices anymore, to pay for our sin; and best of all: We are invited to be members of Christ's Kingdom which invitation is extended for a limited time only and will take us into a Kingdom that will NEVER end and in which death has no power and sin does not exist AT ALL.

This is not some, floating-on-a-cloud-strumming-a-harp kingdom. It is not even a worship service that will last forever. It is a tangible place, where we will join all the members of the Kingdom who have died before us. We live live, have government, work at things we love and always wanted to do on earth....have second chances at every opportunity that we passed by in our first lifetime; time to spend trying out all of the exciting things that we were too afraid to do or were not healthy enough to do on earth....time to develop our talents and interests...which will be the same ones we have on earth most likely, because we will still be US, just no longer tempted by sin and no longer facing death or illness of any kind.

And EASTER MEANS THAT WE ALL ARE INVITED TO GO THERE.

Will all of us go there? No--because some will reject this invitation, clinging to other philosophies and other religions which do not offer what the blood of Christ accomplished for those of us.

And what does Easter and the Resurrection mean to the members of God's Kingdom while they are still on this earth?

It means that we are inhabited by the Spirit of God; with whom we can communicate; from whom we can receive power and special gifts; and who gives us the ability to have wisdom if we listen to what he says. And he also will help us to defeat the temptations that still beset us on this earth. This is where that "newness of life" comes in. Life is not the same thing for a member of God's Kingdom as it is for all others. At least it doesn't have to be; should NOT be. It is more joyful; more powerful; wiser; more hopeful.

And this is sort of why I have been feeling sad. I have not been living in the reality of this in the past few weeks. Yes, I am still a member of the Kingdom, but I have not been expending the benefits that come with it and so have been pulled down a bit into the sad depths of the darkness that surrounds me. And the reality of this New Life has been pushed to the background. And that's a sad thing. If you've ever lived in this reality; you will ALWAYS desire it to be fully effective in your life, because it is a wonderful thing. So maybe this Resurrection Day will bring with it, a new surge of life and God's power in my life. I really hope so.