Blessings!
Easter is upon us once again, which begs the question, why do Christians make such a big deal about Easter? With all their special services, and dinners . . . isn’t it just a celebration of spring? Why can’t they be happy with chocolate bunnies and egg hunts, like the rest of the world?
As we sometimes say at Christmas, Jesus is the reason for the season. On Easter Sunday, or Resurrection Day, we celebrate the fact that death could not keep our Savior in the grave. He came back from the dead, just like He said He would, just like the prophets foretold hundreds of years before His birth.
It’s this fact that separates Christianity from all other religions in the world. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the basis of our faith. We are the only people on earth who serve a living God.
What about Muslims, you may ask? Muslims worship Allah, which means “the god.”
If you are familiar with the Bible, you may remember throughout the Old Testament, a “god” worshiped by the nations and often backsliding Jews, called Baal. Baal had many other names as well, Baalim, Baalberith, Baalpeor . . . Ba-alah. So who is Allah? The answer can be found in the most telling name of all—Baalzebub, also known as Beelzebub—the lord of the flies—Satan.
Now, while Satan is not dead or imagined, as are the gods of other religions, he is by no means the God of anything. He is just what Jesus called him, the father of all lies. Does he have power? Absolutely. He was the most magnificent angel in Heaven before he rebelled. But, when it came down to a battle between him and The Son of The Living God, who won?
Were the bones of Jesus still lying in that tomb, we would have nothing to celebrate. As it is, many people witnessed Christ alive and well three days after they saw Him die on the cross. And continued to see Him for forty days after He rose. Not only that, but after He ascended to the right hand of The Father in Heaven, He sent us The Holy Spirit, as He promised, to comfort and guide us until He comes back for us.
Does that make Christians better than Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, or any others? No! And, anyone who believes it does, is not a child of God.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”—Romans 3:23
Christians have no right to be proud of their standing with God, nor to look down on anyone else. It was not by our goodness that we’ve been given the gift of eternal life. It is by grace. It is simply by allowing Jesus to cover our sins with His innocent blood that we have a part in Kingdom of God.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to The Father but through me.”—John 14:6
It is this faith in a risen Savior that sets us apart from the world. Not in a dead man. Not in a figment of our imagination. Not in a fallen angel. But in the God of all creation. The only God who had the love to sacrifice His only son for His creation. The Only God who had the power to raise Him from the dead.
It is with deep humility that we should approach that empty tomb this Resurrection Sunday. Knowing how very much we are loved by God. And how very much we owe Him.
God’s grace and Peace be with you,
Rebecca
