Eas•ter/ noun : The most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter’s coming soon and it’s time to make some baskets for my offspring 😉 As I was browsing through the Easter candy aisle at Wal-Mart, I had a surprising thought: I want to have Easter in my heart. I love the festivities, but what I really want is for my heart to burn with what Jesus did for me on the cross. His resurrection is hope…much needed hope.
A year and a half ago my Daddy was instantly taken to heaven. As I began thinking about everything that has transpired, tears began to flow right there in Wal-Mart among the Cadbury Eggs and Marshmallow Peeps. I remembered what I wrote not too long after my Father’s tragic accident:
“Before my Dad passed away, I thought I was thankful for my salvation. I was, but it is to a completely different level of thankfulness now! To know that my Dad is not lost forever, and that I will be with him again because of what Jesus did for us on the cross…overwhelms me! To know that someday we will be face-to-face with Jesus and the loved ones gone there before us… places a whole new perspective on the cross. It gives new meaning to, “To live is Christ and to die is gain!”
Yes! I began to feel the intense love and purpose in the cross and Jesus’ resurrection!
I don’t know what is causing you pain today. Maybe deep inside you feel closer to dead than fully alive. Please let me encourage you with what God placed in my heart in the Easter candy aisle at Wal-Mart: It’s about forgiveness. Yes I said forgiveness.
Do you forgive God for allowing deep pain in your life?
Do you forgive people for how they have trespassed against you?
Do you forgive yourself?
It all starts with accepting the forgiveness that Jesus offers you.
This Easter, I challenge myself and I challenge you to accept His forgiveness, and then actively extend forgiveness to others. Make that hard phone call, write that difficult letter, cry out to God and get right with Him, with others and with yourself.
See, if we don’t forgive, it causes unending torment…mostly because it keeps us distant from God. It becomes a block in the pathway of enjoying the closeness we can have with our Savior. If we celebrate Easter with heartfelt gratitude for our own forgiveness, the fact that our debt was paid on the cross, and that we will have eternal life with Him AND then turn around and actually forgive the “unforgivable” with the grace that was given to us…we will experience Jesus’ resurrection like never before.
I can’t think of anything that would honor Jesus more!
Here’s what He says in His word:
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15
Here’s the key to forgiveness: we have to realize how much God has forgiven us every day. When we feel forgiven, we’re going to be forgiving.
And this year I know like never before, this is how I can truly have Easter in my heart.