Being the Light!

I feel like I talk about this a ton, but Easter is my hands-down favorite holiday. There are so many reasons for this, but the most important one is the feeling of victory, hope, and joy that is brings. The fact that we are celebrating the defeat of death, the resurrection of Christ, and the fact that it means that we now have life in Him—it’s all just so exciting and life-changing!

Even though we were not able to celebrate in the victorious manner we are used to (for me that includes bells and trumpets and parties), I do hope that you found a way to have some meaningful worship time this past weekend. Every year as we pass Easter, we are left with the idea of being an Easter people, and letting this hope and good news affect the way we live the rest of the year. I feel like our world needs these messages of victory, joy, and hope more than ever right now.

It’s so easy to feel like our lives are on-hold during this time, but the fact is we can find meaning and purpose and joy today!  Yes, there are things and people that we are missing, and it is okay to grieve all that is going on. However, we also should not feel guilt in finding moments of happiness and love. We can be the Easter people, the light-bearers that bring love and hope into the darkness around us. It can be so easy to slide into negativity, but that is a choice that we all get to make. And while there is no shame in finding ourselves in a dark place, Lamentations 3:23 reminds us that “God’s mercies are new every morning.” We don’t have to live in the dark. We are being called in to the light.

God’s promises are still as true today as they ever were! We are loved, we are known, and we are needed to bring God’s love to the world. I encourage you today to remember the victory that we have, and to embrace that. Find someone who seems to be in a dark place and help bring them out. And when you are in a dark place, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask someone to remind you of the light!