Easter Delights

Without doubt Easter is my favourite time of year. I love the fact that for us in the northern hemisphere our celebration of Easter coincides with Spring and we have the sense of things coming alive again after the harshness of winter. It seems that nature itself is bearing witness to the miracle of resurrection, and the brightening of the evenings fills us with hope and optimism.

This Easter Sunday I will be preaching in my home church, Ackworth Community Church. At the moment I am thinking of simply sharing the five key truths (‘delights’) we celebrate as a result of the Easter event - the combination of Good Friday and Easter Morning. Here they are:

(1) Love has been revealed. It was because God loved the world that he sent his Son to be our Saviour (John 3:16), and the Son himself showed his love by dying for us – ‘greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13). We need be in no doubt that God is kindly disposed towards this fallen world, or that we are the objects of his affection. The cross has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves us, even in our sin and rebellion (Romans 5:8). That is amazing!

(2) Sin has been dealt with. The cross was not an accident or a tragic mistake but the way God chose to deal with sin. There, in the mystery of what we call the atonement, the sin of the world was laid upon the sinless Son of God. There, as our substitute, he willingly bore the just punishment for our sin, offering himself as a once-for-all time sacrifice. Now through repentance and faith we can experience a total forgiveness, be reconciled to God, and be released from guilt and shame. That is staggering!

(3) Satan has been vanquished. Yes, there is a malevolent force at work in the world, but at the cross he was disarmed, defeated and rendered ineffective (Colossians 1:15). Although he did his best to destroy Jesus he failed, and the resurrection proved that Jesus had the victory. Now we share in his triumph, and while we must never treat the powers of darkness lightly, we no longer need to be afraid of them. We share his authority over them. That is mind-blowing!

(4) Death has been defeated. The greatest enemy of all is death. No-one can avoid it, however rich or famous we may be, however strong or resilient we appear. The resurrection of Jesus, however, provides us with the assurance that we who believe shall likewise be raised. The sting of death (fear) has been taken out for it is not the end, only a beginning (1Corinthians 15:54-57). The One who is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25) is the guarantee that though we die, yet shall we live. That is fantastic!

(5) Heaven has been opened. Here is the final joy of Easter – the prospect of spending eternity with our Saviour, and with the Father. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, and either through death or at his second coming, he will come to take us to be with him, so that where he is we may be also (John 14:1-3). Heaven will be perfect bliss.... no sorrow, no pain, no more crying, no mourning ; only continual rejoicing in the presence of God (Revelation 21:3-4). That is comforting!

Very simply this is what Easter means to me. Sometimes we drift away from the basics of our faith, and everything gets very complicated. This Easter let’s remember the words of the apostle Paul:
‘For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve (1Corinthians 15:3-5).’

That’s it in a nutshell folks. Let’s take hold of these ‘delights’ anew this Easter with all our heart.