What Easter Means to Me

Easter is a time when we celebrate all things new. We see new flowers and grass starting to grow. The trees are starting to bud. Birds are starting to return and are active building nests. Animals are having their babies. People are getting out more and doing outside things. Spring time brings warmer weather and the arthritis pain seems to ease. There is a renewed hope in weight loss and being more active. It also brings wedding planning and graduations. A feeling of renewed life in all of us.
But Easter is not about the bunnies and hunting eggs filled with goodies. It is about God’s love for the people of this world. It is a story which starts at the beginning when the world was formed. God made a perfect place for humans to live. He also created humans with the ability to make choices. God knew the first humans would choose to go against His rule and choose to listen to the deceiver. He also knew every human born since then would make the choice to not listen to Him. But He also instilled in us a hope.
For the ones who lived before Jesus was born they had the hope of the Messiah. The prophets foretold of Jesus over and over again throughout the Old Testament. Even the Jewish holy days and celebrations are all about the coming Messiah. For instance, the Passover is about how God saved His people from the Egyptians. A lamb was killed and it’s blood was placed on the door posts of the house. When the angel saw the blood on the posts he would pass over that house and not kill the first born. The lamb represents Jesus who became the Lamb that was slain.
God knew we would make choices to disobey Him so He made a way for us to come back to Him. He sent His only son to this earth with the purpose restoring us to Him. Jesus, the perfect Lamb, came to die for us that we might be saved from eternal death. But Jesus rose from the dead so we can become alive in Him! Just like the trees, who are dormant all winter and appearing to be dead, burst with new life in the spring, Jesus burst forth from the grave. This gives us who believe the hope of new life. And that is what Easter means to me.