Easter People

*We are going to take a brief break from our “Fruit of the Spirit” study for Easter, and then we will wrap it up next week!

                I absolutely LOVE Easter. It is hands-down my favorite holiday. I think it has the best candy, the best colors, and the best activities. There is just nothing better than dying Easter eggs—seeing what fun color concoctions can be made, and then hiding and finding eggs all afternoon with family—it’s just the best! Even the animals are fun—I mean, who wouldn’t rather hang out with a cute bunny or a little lamb over a reindeer?

                But, even more importantly, I love the true meaning of Easter. While the birth of Christ is obviously something to celebrate, His death and resurrection with the span of three days is truly remarkable. The grief and loss and amazing sacrifice of His death, which is then followed by the triumphant joy and victory of resurrection—just WOW! One of my favorite places on Earth is a truly joyful and celebratory church on Easter Sunday! What that sacrifice and victory over death means for us, the access that it gives us to God—it truly transforms everything about that relationship.

                While I’m sure the term has been around much longer, it’s only been over the past few years or so that I’ve heard the terminology about how we are called to be an “Easter People.” While I would love for that to mean we are to celebrate this one day all year long (because, let me tell you, I’m here for coconut cake and pastel candy every day,) I think it’s more than that. Being an Easter People means living as if the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ has truly made a difference in our lives. It’s living as loved people, as free people, and as redeemed people.

                As you read the beginning of the book of Acts, you can see what the disciples were up to after Easter, after Christ’s 40 days back on earth, and after His accession to Heaven. Acts 3-4 tell the story of Peter and John healing a man in the name of Christ, and those same people who led Christ to the cross become very upset. They thought all of the claims of Christ would be silenced with His death, but they soon learn that His miraculous resurrection only served to catapult his story to the masses. Peter and John are called before the Sanhedrin to give an account of their actions, and they answer in Acts 4:20, “²⁰ As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

                Their time with Christ has made such a difference in their lives that they can’t NOT tell others what has happened. May we be the same! May we live in such a way that our time with Christ transforms us, making us different than we were the day before. May we be an Easter people, who live to tell others about the miraculous, transformative way of Christ.