“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
1 Peter 3:15

Easter should be an ongoing celebration.  Yes, it’s beautiful to honor Jesus on that specific day, but it’s because of what he did on the cross and rising again that we get to celebrate that victory every single day.  Each day is an opportunity to reflect and celebrate life we’ve been given in abundance. When you actively take a breath, open his Word, see the smile on your child’s face, feel the sun’s warm rays, experience the love of your friends and family… all of this we get to enjoy because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Our lives are forever changed by what Jesus did at Calvary.

I really wanted to write a beautiful post that was poetic and impactful for Easter. I wanted God to give me all the right words and to perfectly make it all fit together in this blog post… but instead I kept thinking “well what does Easter actually mean to me?“… “What hope do I personally get from celebrating Easter?” I think this is one of the harder blog posts I’ve ever written because I have a difficult time putting into words how special Jesus really is to me. I have a hard time putting my words to a feeling that I can barely express, because it is that great.  I can’t stop talking about Jesus because I want every single person to experience the goodness of him, the way I get to each day.  I have a hope that truly overflows.  I’m not afraid of death anymore.  I’m not afraid of what will happen to me after I leave this world.  I’m not afraid of cancer because I know where I’m going when I die.  That is the type of hope and confidence Jesus gave me when he died for me on that cross.  If you don’t know the type of hope I’m describing, you can.  

By Jesus dying on the cross and raising on that 3rd day, it means that he defeated death. By Jesus defeating death, we now have direct access to Jesus himself. Nothing we do on Earth can grant us access to heaven, except through Jesus himself. Because of Jesus giving us direct access, we don’t have to strive to “be a good person” to get to heaven and we don’t have to do “good works” or “confess x amount of times to grant us salvation”. We don’t have to do a single thing and the cross is the perfect depiction of that. The man next to Jesus on the cross was a sinner and he deserved to die for what he did… but in his last moments he asked “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42) and Jesus replies so beautifully with “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 That is the grace that the cross offers all of us. While we don’t deserve any of what Jesus did for us and we definitely don’t deserve heaven, Jesus offers that gracious gift and accepts us into his kingdom and offers us life in abundance.

When I think of the cross and what Jesus did for me, it brings me a type of hope that overflows into everything else. As I reflected on Good Friday and what Jesus did on the cross, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much he didn’t deserve the punishment that he received.  He experienced the most brutal, agonizing death and for what reason?  Jesus literally healed people everywhere he went, he accepted the outcasts and marginalized, he loved the people who were hurting, and he had compassion on all he came into contact with.  He did no wrong and never sinned, yet he was rejected and murdered.  I kept thinking, “how can this be?” … “How could people be so ignorant, so mean, so hurtful?” … yet that was me for so long in my own life.  I rejected Jesus, when he offered me HIS life and salvation for my own soul.  I rejected and maybe even mocked him after he died for me.  It’s heartbreaking. What about you? Are you still rejecting Jesus or have you accepted him in your heart?  Are you still choosing zodiac signs over the one who actually put the very stars in the sky?  Jesus’ persecution for simply being a good man then (and now) should reveal to each of us just how badly the enemy wants Jesus out of the picture.  Jesus’ death and resurrection should reveal to us how real the enemy is too. No truly good man would be crucified if he wasn’t a threat to another. This is evidence that we have an enemy and that enemy may be trying to block you from accepting Christ or growing in your relationship with him. Let Easter be a reminder of that too.

What Easter means to me is that I’m not a mistake.  Easter means that I am loved and wanted in this life.   Easter rebukes the lies that the enemy whispers at me.  Easter breaks down those walls of darkness that so often try to take hold in our lives.  Easter means that no longer am I a slave to the world, but I am willingly and gladly a servant to the one who created it all.  Because he died and rose again, I choose to die to my flesh every single day and rise again in his arms. I choose to believe that God has a reason that he doesn’t want me to do certain things and say whatever is on my mind.  I believe God for it because he knows infinitely more than I ever will.  I choose to believe that dying to my pride is better than saying the last word.  I choose to believe those things because Jesus chose me well before I chose Him.  I celebrate that true gift of life every single day and you should too.  

I have hope and joy in abundance because of Jesus Christ.  My reason for talking about him all the time is because I can’t get over what he did for ME.  He had ME in mind on that cross, even though he knew I’d reject him time and time again. He had YOU in mind on that cross, even though you denied him and maybe still do.  He had US in mind, even though he knew we’d continue to sin over and over again.  I don’t know who this is for, but maybe you don’t fully understand who Jesus is and what he did almost 2,000 years ago, but now is the time to accept that sacrifice and accept Jesus into your heart.  Friend, you’re always going to have questions and unfortunately, you’ll never have all the answers, but one thing you can be sure of is that you have direct access to the One who DOES have all the answers.  You can have a relationship with him.  You can talk to him and he will talk back, but you can’t have a conversation with someone you don’t speak to.  You need to go to him, lay it all at Jesus’ feet and let him change your life.  His sacrifice on the cross shows us that he wants you to have him in abundance and that your life is worth it to him.  

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross shows us that he gave up everything for us and gave us what the world will never give us.  The world will offer temporary satisfaction and enjoyment, but Jesus offers us paradise in eternity with him, with all who call upon the name of Jesus. Just like Jesus offered it to the undeserving man next to him on the cross in his last moments on Earth… in our last days, we too can hear “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”.  Stop chasing the things of this world, stop trying to get all the answers, stop trying to figure out every single thing because that is the work of the enemy.  He would rather keep you focused on all the details that won’t serve us, so that we won’t serve the one who actually will.  

If I can promise anything in my life, it is this- you will not be disappointed in accepting Jesus. The church might let you down, the friend might let you down, the followers of Jesus might let you down, but Jesus will NEVER let you down.  When you go to heaven and see the reward, I promise everything will be worth it.  I believe it with my whole heart.  So this is it.  This is definitely not the “eloquent” spirit-led blog post that I was hoping for, but I felt like God wanted me to share my heart in what Easter really means to me. And this is it–  Easter means hope in abundance.  Hope for an eternal future… for not only me, but for you too.  He didn’t just offer it to the “well-deserving” nice person, but he also offers it to the addict who keeps going back to his vice. He offers it to the person who makes mistake over and over again. He offers it to the person who least deserves it. He offers it to you and me. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17