On Easter Sunday afternoon as I was opening the wrapper of another Easter candy, I thought about how much I enjoy this time of year. All the fun colors, the eggs, the candy and the ham. Meeting with friends is another highlight and meeting with family can add lot’s of sparkle and shine. Hiding treats for all of the little ones to frantically run around and find, only to be slightly outdone by that older kid who probably shouldn’t have been looking in the first place, makes for an interesting afternoon. All of these things are great and in good fun but hopefully we all realize what this time of year is really all about. Easter is really all about Resurrection. Jesus Christ paid for all of our sin with His death on the cross, and then on Sunday rose triumphantly over sin and death. We celebrate this on the holiday known as Easter. In my opinion it’s the most important holiday of the year.
As I was opening yet another tightly wrapped piece of chocolatey goodness, I also thought about how easy it is to get caught up in all the ways that our culture celebrates this day. I guess it’s good for the economy and maybe it is a way to get people thinking about what all of those colored eggs really mean. It’s also great to hear little reminders about the true meaning of the season through our social networking infused lives and when we attend that special Easter service. But what would happen if we let the world around us have their eggs and eat their candy too, and we made it a point to celebrate His resurrection with the same fervor and excitement all year long. What if the alarms we muzzle 365 mornings of the year were followed up by a confident “HE IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED!”. What if every day we made it a point to let the world around us know about His wonderful sacrifice and the fact that their sin was punished through Christ’s death on the cross. That our Heavenly Father loves them and gave up His Son in exchange for them. What if we told them that because He rose, they too may experience new life through him as a free gift.
As I was about to go for the leftover candy one more time, I stopped and said a prayer: “Jesus, I want to remember you like this every day of the year. I want to experience all that your death and resurrection mean to me when I wake each morning. I want to base my life around your life inside me and my life in you. I want to feel your scars and see you glorified every day. I want my life to be a continual announcement to those I come into contact with that you are alive. Amen.”
This is at the heart of missions and is the center of a missional life.
HE IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED!
Jesse Heikkila
Director, Modern Day
