What eggsactly are we celebrating? In the general population, if Easter is acknowledged at all, it’s a celebration of eggs and the latest spring fashions. I’ll admit, eggs are a good source of protein, and, let me not fail to mention, they are no longer purported to be the evil, number one enemy of those seeking to control their cholesterol. Yes, eggs are fine, but they don’t make me want to dance, shout or anything similarly related.
Well, what about spring fashions? The truth is, they don’t move me much either. I’ve been around long enough to watch plenty of them come and go. I prefer to choose what I like to wear, what feels good, and what is me, rather than have a few strangers across the globe dictate to me what’s in. If it’s so in, why is out the next year?
For some, Easter is a time to celebrate an empty tomb --- the resurrection of the Son of God. This makes more sense than the egg thing, but if it stops there, then I’m of the same opinion of the five year old strapped in for a loooong car trip who’s inching closer to her destination, I’m thinkin’ “WERE NOT THERE YET!”
FYI: Changing gears here!
I once knew a little girl who had a teenaged sister. The little girl said of her sister, “She thinks she’s all that, but she’s not.” How did she know her sister was not all that? She lived with her. She saw her imperfections. Let me make a proclamation here and now: God is all that. The Lord says of Himself, in Revelation 1:8: “I am the Alpha and the Omega…who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Acts 17:25 reveals another fact about God. He has no needs. This Almighty, all-sufficient God gave a book to man. It could have been, and probably should have been, all about Him---His autobiography---but it wasn’t. It’s not like He wouldn’t have had plenty to write about. John put it this way at the end of his gospel: “And I suppose if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world could not contain the books.” (John 21:25) That used to stump me. How could there be so much to say about a short life of thirty-three years? I wasn’t taking into account the fact that Jesus had existed eternally. According to Colossians chapter one, He created all things. To record all of the details of all of His created works, and His infinite knowledge on every subject---some that we aren’t even aware of---can you imagine the number of books?
But, God didn’t choose to write a book solely about Himself. His book is also about us. Here are a few examples: Genesis, God and His created beings; Leviticus, God and His laws for His people; Judges, God and His government for man; Proverbs, God’s wisdom for man; The Prophets, God’s revelations and warnings to man; The Gospels, God with man; Acts, God in man; The Letters, God’s admonitions and encouragement to man.
The sinner thinks life is all about man. The Christian thinks that he’s supposed to think life is all about God, but what does God think? We have already established the fact from scripture that God needs nothing. This God who needs nothing, has chosen to make man the object of His affection. Look up this little-known verse for proof, John 3:16. God’s book is filled with stories of Him repeatedly reaching out to wayward man. No doubt about it, man should worship God, just because He is God, but we are selfish creatures. From the first commandment God had to appeal to man on a personal level. Man didn’t honor Him enough for God to just say, “Don’t eat of the tree.” God had to let His created beings know that it would affect them personally, if they disobeyed. The Old Testament is filled with if…then statements from God to man. If you do this right action, then you will get this good result. If you do this wrong action, then you will suffer these consequences.
This theme continues into the New Testament. In 1st John 4:19, John writes: “We love him…” Well, John should have been able to write that, but what he actually wrote was this: “We love him, because He first loved us.” What’s amazing is, God doesn’t reprimand us for this if…then/because mentality. He created us to desire good for ourselves. This desire is part of what makes heaven so appealing. We long for a place of no pain, no sorrow, eternal peace. Our inborn desire for fulfillment of our needs is not wrong. It can become wrong based on how we fulfill it. God’s design is that He would fulfill us, that the One who is all in all would become our all in all. We are in rebellion when we reject Him and seek to fulfill our needs by our own means. So while sinners serve self, and saints strive to serve the Savior, God seems to scream, “Surrender self!” God wants our hearts. We already have His. God’s view on man’s life is relationship with Him.
Now…back to Easter. What I’m trying to say in a nutshell (empty tomb) is Easter is not only about celebrating the Resurrection of the Son of God. If we believe what we read in the gospels about Jesus before we get to the resurrection story, His rising from the dead should be no surprise to us---full of wonder, yes, surprising, no. Before His death Jesus had opened blinded eyes, healed leprosy, stopped a violent storm, multiplied food, commanded evil spirits, and raised other people from the dead. He had shown absolute power in all spheres. Was it really a marvel that He came out of the tomb?
Easter is a time when more people than usual honor God, when believers who are not Christians do their perceived duty, and go to church. They may even make it all about Jesus. They join in the songs about the resurrection. They listen to the sermon about the empty tomb, but if it’s only about Jesus, they have missed the point. Jesus didn’t make Himself a martyr to be honored one day a year. Everyday should be all about Him, but if there’s one day that’s not about Him, it’s Easter. Easter is the proof that the crucifixion was valid. When Jesus uttered the words, “It is finished,” on the cross He was using a Greek accounting term, tetelestai. This word means paid in full. The crucifixion manifested Jesus’ love and willingness to die for my sins. The empty tomb showed that He had, indeed, conquered sin. Death, the punishment for my sin debt, was overcome, swallowed up in victory, paid in full!
Jesus should be honored on Easter, loved on Easter, exalted on Easter, but the celebration of Easter should be about us. When we make it about Him, what are we saying? “Jesus, you did it! You were strong enough to defeat death!” How foolish. Again I ask: “Was it really a marvel that He came out of the tomb?” The real marvel is that He loved us so much that He made a way for us to come out of the tomb. Easter is a celebration of life---a celebration that Jesus made a way for us to have life! The greatest way to honor Him on Easter is not to celebrate His resurrection but to appropriate it and celebrate our own resurrection. If we don’t, speaking on an individual basis, Jesus’ death was for nothing, and Easter has been reduced to an affirmation that God is all-powerful, even over death. Whoopee, like He needs us to tell Him that.
~ Changing gears again~
What if I knew someone who was literally starving to death. I worked and prepared a meal. I put it all out on the table. I set a place with an empty plate ready to fill. The sickly, dying person got dressed up in their best, they came to my table, sat down and surveyed the food, and commented: “Wow, you set a really impressive table.” Then without having eaten, they pushed back from the table and went home. Ridiculous! The empty plate had been prepared for their benefit, not mine. It wasn’t about them acknowledging my skills, but receiving my abundance and being grateful for the provision.
When a dying man (dead in trespasses and sins) receives the life that Jesus made possible by the empty tomb, there is a party in heaven. In Luke 15:10 Jesus says: “…I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” I guess it all comes down to this: I can celebrate Easter, or I can cause God to celebrate Easter.
Well, what about spring fashions? The truth is, they don’t move me much either. I’ve been around long enough to watch plenty of them come and go. I prefer to choose what I like to wear, what feels good, and what is me, rather than have a few strangers across the globe dictate to me what’s in. If it’s so in, why is out the next year?
For some, Easter is a time to celebrate an empty tomb --- the resurrection of the Son of God. This makes more sense than the egg thing, but if it stops there, then I’m of the same opinion of the five year old strapped in for a loooong car trip who’s inching closer to her destination, I’m thinkin’ “WERE NOT THERE YET!”
FYI: Changing gears here!
I once knew a little girl who had a teenaged sister. The little girl said of her sister, “She thinks she’s all that, but she’s not.” How did she know her sister was not all that? She lived with her. She saw her imperfections. Let me make a proclamation here and now: God is all that. The Lord says of Himself, in Revelation 1:8: “I am the Alpha and the Omega…who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Acts 17:25 reveals another fact about God. He has no needs. This Almighty, all-sufficient God gave a book to man. It could have been, and probably should have been, all about Him---His autobiography---but it wasn’t. It’s not like He wouldn’t have had plenty to write about. John put it this way at the end of his gospel: “And I suppose if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world could not contain the books.” (John 21:25) That used to stump me. How could there be so much to say about a short life of thirty-three years? I wasn’t taking into account the fact that Jesus had existed eternally. According to Colossians chapter one, He created all things. To record all of the details of all of His created works, and His infinite knowledge on every subject---some that we aren’t even aware of---can you imagine the number of books?
But, God didn’t choose to write a book solely about Himself. His book is also about us. Here are a few examples: Genesis, God and His created beings; Leviticus, God and His laws for His people; Judges, God and His government for man; Proverbs, God’s wisdom for man; The Prophets, God’s revelations and warnings to man; The Gospels, God with man; Acts, God in man; The Letters, God’s admonitions and encouragement to man.
The sinner thinks life is all about man. The Christian thinks that he’s supposed to think life is all about God, but what does God think? We have already established the fact from scripture that God needs nothing. This God who needs nothing, has chosen to make man the object of His affection. Look up this little-known verse for proof, John 3:16. God’s book is filled with stories of Him repeatedly reaching out to wayward man. No doubt about it, man should worship God, just because He is God, but we are selfish creatures. From the first commandment God had to appeal to man on a personal level. Man didn’t honor Him enough for God to just say, “Don’t eat of the tree.” God had to let His created beings know that it would affect them personally, if they disobeyed. The Old Testament is filled with if…then statements from God to man. If you do this right action, then you will get this good result. If you do this wrong action, then you will suffer these consequences.
This theme continues into the New Testament. In 1st John 4:19, John writes: “We love him…” Well, John should have been able to write that, but what he actually wrote was this: “We love him, because He first loved us.” What’s amazing is, God doesn’t reprimand us for this if…then/because mentality. He created us to desire good for ourselves. This desire is part of what makes heaven so appealing. We long for a place of no pain, no sorrow, eternal peace. Our inborn desire for fulfillment of our needs is not wrong. It can become wrong based on how we fulfill it. God’s design is that He would fulfill us, that the One who is all in all would become our all in all. We are in rebellion when we reject Him and seek to fulfill our needs by our own means. So while sinners serve self, and saints strive to serve the Savior, God seems to scream, “Surrender self!” God wants our hearts. We already have His. God’s view on man’s life is relationship with Him.
Now…back to Easter. What I’m trying to say in a nutshell (empty tomb) is Easter is not only about celebrating the Resurrection of the Son of God. If we believe what we read in the gospels about Jesus before we get to the resurrection story, His rising from the dead should be no surprise to us---full of wonder, yes, surprising, no. Before His death Jesus had opened blinded eyes, healed leprosy, stopped a violent storm, multiplied food, commanded evil spirits, and raised other people from the dead. He had shown absolute power in all spheres. Was it really a marvel that He came out of the tomb?
Easter is a time when more people than usual honor God, when believers who are not Christians do their perceived duty, and go to church. They may even make it all about Jesus. They join in the songs about the resurrection. They listen to the sermon about the empty tomb, but if it’s only about Jesus, they have missed the point. Jesus didn’t make Himself a martyr to be honored one day a year. Everyday should be all about Him, but if there’s one day that’s not about Him, it’s Easter. Easter is the proof that the crucifixion was valid. When Jesus uttered the words, “It is finished,” on the cross He was using a Greek accounting term, tetelestai. This word means paid in full. The crucifixion manifested Jesus’ love and willingness to die for my sins. The empty tomb showed that He had, indeed, conquered sin. Death, the punishment for my sin debt, was overcome, swallowed up in victory, paid in full!
Jesus should be honored on Easter, loved on Easter, exalted on Easter, but the celebration of Easter should be about us. When we make it about Him, what are we saying? “Jesus, you did it! You were strong enough to defeat death!” How foolish. Again I ask: “Was it really a marvel that He came out of the tomb?” The real marvel is that He loved us so much that He made a way for us to come out of the tomb. Easter is a celebration of life---a celebration that Jesus made a way for us to have life! The greatest way to honor Him on Easter is not to celebrate His resurrection but to appropriate it and celebrate our own resurrection. If we don’t, speaking on an individual basis, Jesus’ death was for nothing, and Easter has been reduced to an affirmation that God is all-powerful, even over death. Whoopee, like He needs us to tell Him that.
~ Changing gears again~
What if I knew someone who was literally starving to death. I worked and prepared a meal. I put it all out on the table. I set a place with an empty plate ready to fill. The sickly, dying person got dressed up in their best, they came to my table, sat down and surveyed the food, and commented: “Wow, you set a really impressive table.” Then without having eaten, they pushed back from the table and went home. Ridiculous! The empty plate had been prepared for their benefit, not mine. It wasn’t about them acknowledging my skills, but receiving my abundance and being grateful for the provision.
When a dying man (dead in trespasses and sins) receives the life that Jesus made possible by the empty tomb, there is a party in heaven. In Luke 15:10 Jesus says: “…I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” I guess it all comes down to this: I can celebrate Easter, or I can cause God to celebrate Easter.
