One man's voice Thoughts, rants and commentary of a simple man

Happy Resurrection Sunday 2010

He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Matthew 28:6

Today is an international holiday for people of the Christian faith. It is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Today is meaningful for so many reasons, but the most significant reason is that it gives the Christian the basis for our belief that, as part of our salvation, God the Father can literally allow us to die to our former disbelieving selves and be reborn into a new creation, one who can believe in the heart and declare with the mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He died for our sins and was reborn as we must necessarily be.

For years I have taught my kids that today is not about rabbits, eggs, candy or baskets. While the holiday that most of us know as Easter has been historically wrapped up in all of these things - much like Christmas has become about gift giving and wrapping paper and trees and lights - I think it is important to know that for Christians, today is about one thing: the rebirth of our Lord after death and entombment.

Yes, the colorful aspects of today are fun. By all means, enjoy that time. Get your kids Easter baskets. Color some eggs together. Get fatted up on chocolate bunnies and Peeps. But if are a Christian, I would encourage you today to consider the sacrifice made on Calvary for you and I, and the subsequent victory ensured us by the happenings of today all those years ago.

He endured punishment of the worst kind so we wouldn't have to. He died in the flesh so we could die to the flesh. And He rose so that we might, in Him, have victory even over death. Because of today, we have an open door to God the Father and eternity in heaven.

If you are a Christian, today is a big day for you and you should celebrate it as such. If you are not a Christian, enjoy the bunnies and eggs and the family time. Either way, enjoy your day today. Because regardless of your spiritual beliefs, if what the Bible says is really true - which I believe it is - Christ didn't just die for me. He died for all of us. And He rose for all of us, too.