What to reflect on during the Easter season
With the end of the school year coming up, our minds can be all over the place. Here are some things to reflect on during the Easter season and for daily life.
It’s that time of year again: the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and students are looking forward to the end of the school year. It’s also the time when Easter is right around the corner, and for Christians it means so much more than just the Easter Bunny and finding eggs in the backyard. For us, it is a time of extra rejoicing, remembering, and proclaiming that Christ has risen from the grave on the third day after His Crucifixion. For us, it means the ultimate freedom and joy of a relationship we can eternally have with the Almighty God. Below are three main points to deeply reflect on during this time, and I pray they help you draw closer to the Lord.
Christ’s coming was known long before He ever walked the Earth
This can be found in the Scriptures of the Old Testament; for instance, let’s look at the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 7:10-16 tells us of the coming of a child to be born to a virgin, and Isaiah 9:2-7 is where we learn “…he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” These verses make it clear that the coming king is a great one, one that is heavenly and is more than just a man but that he is God. Isaiah 32:1-8 tells the coming of a king who will be greater than the kings of the past. This Scripture directly correlates with who Jesus is; verses 3 and 4 tell us, “Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.” While these verses have been thought by some scholars to be speaking about Hezekiah, we know that Christ is the ultimate king who came and saved and forgave man’s transgressions. We see Jesus performing miracles of healing the blind (Matt. 9:27-31, Mark 8:22-26, Luke 18:35-43, John 9:1-7) and telling of how eyes will be opened or blinded spiritually. Jesus’ disciples who listened to His sermons and parables had their ears and eyes opened (Matt. 13:16). This was a much waited for arrival, and we have great reason to celebrate that He has come and set us free.
Christ’s Resurrection is eternal and means eternal life
Christ has forever given those who have repented and believe in Him eternal life. While this is something that Christians know and believe wholeheartedly, when it is looked at deeply, it surpasses all of our human understanding. John 6:40 states, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” Because Christ is risen and is alive sitting at the right hand of the Father (Psalm 48:10, Psalm 110:1, Matt. 22:44, Mark 16:19, Luke 22:69, Acts 2:33, 7:55-56, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2, 1 Peter 3:22, Rev. 3:21), we have the ability to live eternally. No end, no beginning; eternal, everlasting life and relationship with God. When you really sit back and think about it, through Christ’s Death and Resurrection, the impossible really did become the possible. We are no longer held to the time constraint of this earth or fear of death, but rather we can forevermore be in relationship with God. We are reminded of Jesus’ eternal nature by looking closely at Romans 10:17: “…faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” We gain our faith from hearing the message written in the Bible about Jesus; Jesus Himself is the Word (John 1:1) that has existed eternally. The words written down in the Bible about the Word are from the Word and are of the Word. Ultimately, the words written down about Christ are everlasting, and it is by these words that we find the basis for our identities as Christians, as a people loved and saved by God.
Christ will be back, and we must make disciples
For many non-Christians this may sound hard to believe, but for those of us who know Him, we have great hope, anticipation, and joy in knowing that our King will be back again, and there will be a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1). This means that we will be starting a new era, a time with God that will surpass all our hopes and dreams and of forever glorifying Him. In Revelation 22, we are told three times, “I am coming soon,” which tells us that Jesus is not far away; whether it be much longer or shorter in our time, we do not know. We do know that He is coming to us very soon, and we need to glorify and await His coming. While He is gone, it is our job to continue to preach the Gospel throughout the world (Matt. 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-20), so that more may see His glory forevermore. After all, it is the job Jesus left the disciples, and we are to pick up our cross and follow Him (Matt. 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23). This is something God has asked each and every one of us to do; this is not about what our friends and our family do or believe, but what we do and believe within our relationship with Christ. Just as Jesus said in John 21:22 to Peter: “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Jesus Christ will be back and He has asked us each to have a personal relationship with Him—that is our everything.
I hope by reiterating and diving a bit deeper into these three points that Christians can remember in full who Christ was, is, and is to come. After all, Jesus was fully human but He is also something more: He is our Savior. He tells us, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev. 22:13). He is our “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Rev. 19:16). Jesus is our Savior and the only begotten Son of God. He is all that we need.
Abby Trivett is a staff writer for the Daily Runner.
