Happy Easter everyone! Easter is a day of hope and renewal, a day of rebirth and resurrection. Every Easter, we hear of a little white bunny that goes around and drops off eggs for people to find. Chocolate eggs, sometimes real eggs painted up, and many times, little plastic eggs that sometimes possess money in them or other prizes, and very rarely do we stop long enough to contemplate the meaning of it. The tradition of painting eggs originated in ancient Mesopotamia, where the eggs generally were dyed red to represent the blood of Jesus. The meaning of the Easter Bunny and the Eggs tells a story. The bunny is as white as snow, it's coat undefiled by any blemishes. For me, the symbolism of this is in the pure coat of Jesus, who knew no sin and yet came to pay the price for us. The egg symbolizes the gift of salvation to us, a new beginning. To be born again. Eggs often times contain chicks within them. The egg is symbolic of pregnancy and birth. Jesus told Nicodemus this when he came to Jesus by night and asked him about Heaven and Salvation. Jesus told him that unless a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. And as you might think, Nicodemus was probably a little scared by that, probably a LOT confused. How can a man return to his mother's womb and come back out a second time? But Jesus told him that this was not literal. It's not the body that must be born again, but the spirit. How can something be born unless it was not existing prior? To be reborn requires one to die and to be resurrected. But once again, this is meant for the spirit. It was Jesus Christ who was the first fruits of this resurrection. But the same is promised to all those who believe. When we take Christ as our Savior, we crucify with him our sins and our old self, and upon his death, the old us we used to be dies with him. And the new us that we become is resurrected with him as well. That's why the Bible tells us that we're a "New Creature". We have a new spirit put into us. One cleansed of iniquity, and the Spirit of God himself dwells within as a Comforter to, as the name implies, give us comfort. God is not a God who cannot sympathize with us. The beauty of the Gospel (That is to say "Good News") is that an Omnipotent, Omniprescent, Omniscent, Incorruptable God saw mankind, how they rebelled against him and did evil. The Justice of God dictates that evil must be punished. God never meant for us to bear his law, because these were the standards set for God himself. The law we break every day was the law God had to carry for himself. But we did so anyway. God allowed this due to another nature within himself that he cannot deny. Love. Love gives others free will. That free will is a choice to either stay by him or rebel. And we chose to rebel. And in doing so, we severed ourselves from God and burned our bridges. But God could not deny himself. He is All Justice as well as All Loving. Anything in the world that is completely good originated from God. And that includes unconditional love. And so, this perfect God that knew everything, could do anything, and be everywhere at the same time, eternal and immortal, decided that he loved us so much, that he would lay aside everything. He traded his Kingdom for a Manger in a Stable, with Jesus himself stating that the "Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head". Jesus went from having a kingdom to basically being homeless. He went from a lavish robe to swaddling clothes. He went from omnipresent, to being locked down into a single form. He went from knowing everything, to only knowing that which the Holy Spirit showed him. And he went from being able to do anything, to only being capable of doing the miracles that the Holy Spirit allowed him to do. Jesus sat aside everything he had to come here. And while here, he had to experience life as a human. For a while, his earthly father was not his father. And for a time during his childhood, his father Joseph even died and left Mary as a widow, and a single mother. Jesus worked with his hands. Jesus would even go into the mountains to be tempted. And if you think you know temptation, let me tell you, you don't know it like Jesus did. If we are tempted, we're tempted by our flesh and by minor devils. Jesus went and was tempted by Satan himself, the strongest of ALL devils, and the Father of lies. Jesus understood temptation. And you know what else he understood? Sorrow. When Lazarus died, he cried with his sisters. He also knew fear. The night before his crucifixion, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, and there he prayed so hard that his sweat were as if they were drops of blood. It was so bad that Jesus himself even asked God "Is there another way?" But God sent an angel to strengthen him, because there wasn't. Jesus was scared. Our God understands us on every level. He was tempted, afraid, sad, he experienced life as a human. And then, he went to the cross and died. There he sacrificed the only thing he had left, his purity. Being sinless, Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world. He became sin itself. So much so that in Heaven, God had to look away from him. And in that moment, Jesus had lost everything. His Kingdom, his Honor, His Power, and finally, his Purity. He had become the very thing that he hated the most. A pain worse than nails in one's hands and feet. For Jesus and God, we can only imagine what it felt like. For God, it must have been like standing there, watching your own child be assaulted. and for Jesus, it must have felt like he had been relations forced upon him by the evil. But even there, he prayed for them, telling God to have mercy and forgive them, for they knew not what they were doing. The whole time, Jesus loved us. When we spat on him, beat him, and nailed him to a cross, he still loved us. People don't realize it, but the Angels of Heaven stood there at the edge with their swords ready, their armor on. The Bible says as much. If Jesus had simply said "Go", they would have come down, and the human race would have ended. But instead, Jesus bore it. He then cried out with a loud voice and said "It is finished!" And he gave up his life. After three days spent in death, he would be resurrected. Even to this day, he bears those wounds. They're a badge of honor for him, just as the wounds a mother has after giving birth are a badge for them. Jesus loved us so much and doesn't want us to be lost to him. But all the same, he respects our ability to choose. He will not force himself upon us. We were created in God's image, and that means we were created not only to look like him, but to have the same rights that God himself has. Free will. What we do with it, God allows, even if it hurts him and us. And it's not without warning. Everlasting judgement exists for those who choose to continue evil, just as a criminal must be thrown in prison. God doesn't want it, but it's a choice we make. There is none who are good, no not one, save God. We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So in God's sorrow, he knows what our punishment is, and he hates it. He doesn't want us to suffer. When we left our relatioship with God, we fled to a sinking ship. We believed ourselves capable, but we're sinking. In this world, we're rife with these things. Emotional problems, mental illness, identity issues, there are so many things. We don't even know what we are anymore. We've lost our way, and without God, without a foundation, everything we are is built on sand. It shifts and changes, and in a single day, the empire we built for ourselves in self-worship will be thrown down. But Jesus sent us the lifeline. A life boat to save us. Why? Because he loves you. Did you know that it actually really hurts God a lot to send people to hell? People act like he does it so happily. No. Why does the Devil want so badly for everyone to go to Hell? It's the same as a vindictive child breaking their brothers' lego set. He simply wants to see God hurt. But God offers mercy. If we confess our sins, he is just and willing to forgive. Eternal life. So what is the cost? Surely we must pay something or accomplish some great feat to be counted worthy. Right? No. That's the best thing. It's free. It's as simple as asking for it. If you believe in God, but have yet to ask for it, now is the time. It's as simple as a confession straight to him. Simply admit you are a sinner. That's all. Just admit the truth that we all know. That we do wrong. Simply apologize and ask for mercy and forgiveness. If you ask Jesus for Salvation, he will give it. And all of Heaven will cheer for you. Because it is not God's will that any should perish, but that all should come to faith in Jesus. I am not a good man. I am probably one of the worst people here. And God forgave me. He can and will do the same for you. If you feel that feeling in your heart, that you need to know him, don't ignore it. That's Jesus himself asking you. "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open up to me, I will come in unto him and will have supper with him, and he with me." It's as simple as telling the Lord "Yes." If you hear a knocking at the door, don't ignore it. Open it up. That's what Easter is about. It's about hope, new beginnings, and love. The love of God to man. Unconditional love. Jesus loves you, and I just wanted to let you know that.
HAPPY EASTER!!!
