He is risen!
"...I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said." - Matthew 28:5-6
What a beautiful and joyous phrase - Christ is risen! This phrase holds so much history behind it, beginning in Genesis 3 where man falls short of God's standard of perfection and sin becomes a part of every human's nature. And yet, God in His infinite mercy and compassion, has a plan to save us and redeem us from our sinful state. The whole Bible is full of prophecies and pictures of Jesus, who would eventually come to save us all! All along, God was making a way for us to be with Him forever if we just choose Him.
All along, God was making a way to save us - all we have to do is accept His sacrifice on our behalf.
During a Passover Seder to celebrate Easter this year, I was reminded that the Passover lamb was a symbol of Jesus. In Egypt, the children of Israel were enslaved, just as we are enslaved to sin. Yet, God rescued His people. The Passover was when the children of Israel were told to slaughter a lamb without blemish and put the blood on the doorpost so the Angel of Death would not kill the firstborn son in the household. Jesus was like a lamb, and He was without blemish because He had no sin. His blood sacrifice cleanses us from our sins, so that we don't have to die in our sin if we accept Jesus as our LORD and Saviour!
Because God is good and just, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished - it would be unfair and evil if people could get away with lying, stealing, killing, or other actions that break God's law. But because God is also compassionate and loves each one of us, He wants a relationship with us.
God is good and just, so He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. But He also loves each of us deeply, and He would rather die on our behalf than be separated from us forever.
In order to handle this impasse resulting from our sin (separating us from God, who desires to have a relationship with us because of His great love), God has made a way: JESUS. Jesus died in our place, taking our sin upon Himself, and for those who love God and accept Him as their LORD and Saviour, Jesus' perfect life is exchanged for our sin, and we are covered with Jesus' blood. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live so that we can have a relationship with God.
We are free because of His sacrifice, redeemed through His death. The price for all the wrong things we've ever done is paid - our sin doesn't go unpunished, but we don't have to suffer the consequences of it because Jesus took our place! All because He loves us so much.
Jesus lived the perfect life that we could never live so that we could have a relationship with God.
What beautiful news! This is the very reason that I am filled with joy that transcends my circumstances - the reason for my épanouie! I can have victory over sin because of Christ. I can have joy because of Christ. I can have hope because of Christ. And you can also have this victory, joy, and hope, irrespective of your circumstances if you accept Jesus as your LORD and Saviour!
"Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." - Romans 6:8-11
God loves us in spite of ourselves.
Let us praise the LORD for His goodness and His love for us. As one song says, "I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it, still You [God] give Yourself away..." God loves us in spite of ourselves, with an unconditional, everlasting love.
Happy Easter!
♪ - listen to Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed by Keith & Kristyn Getty.
