Inspire

The Easter Season

Holy Week is a time of big feelings for many Christians. Some hard to have feelings as we consider Jesus' fate and his treatment at the hands of people, or when we consider the actions of those closest to him who denied him or betrayed him.

There are also nice-to-have feelings, particularly when we consider God's greater plan and Jesus' triumph over death with his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

What an emotional rollercoaster Easter is for Jesus and for Christians!

I am not the biggest fan of rollercoasters. We took our four children to the Gold Coast at the start of this year and I went on more rollercoaster rides than I had been on collectively up to that point in my life! (The things we do for our children, right?)

Some of those rides were even us returning to go on the same rollercoaster more than once, and what I found was that the more I knew what to expect, the less scary they were; the more I could try to appreciate the journey rather than just waiting for the end.

Being strapped in helps us to appreciate the journey on a rollercoaster as you don't have many options other than to sit there and take in everything around you. You know you'll make it to the end and so in the meantime, you just need to go with it and try to appreciate the wonder of the technological marvel and the emotions of the moment. I wonder how much do we do that with Easter? We know where this Easter rollercoaster is going, we know Jesus makes it to the end and returns as our salvation. But do we strap in and appreciate the Easter journey as it happens? Or do we close our eyes, grit our teeth and wait for the end of the ride when we can revel in the nice-to-have feelings once it's over? 

This Easter, I encourage you to take some time to deeply appreciate each part of the Easter story. To reflect on the parts that are hard to hear, where we see our own shortcomings reflected in others' actions and where we see Jesus' innocence as a stark contrast. And to embrace the nice to have feelings that come with Jesus' resurrection and triumph over death. I also encourage you to reflect on the rollercoaster God has planned for your life. To remember that, just as Jesus did, we know the end destination God has planned and waiting for us in Heaven. That through His Son Jesus, we are free to be in relationship with God and that with this knowledge, we can try to appreciate the journey God has planned out for us and calls us to journey on with Him. 

May the joy of Easter fill your hearts over the coming week.

May the victory of the empty tomb remind you that God's love triumphs over all.

May your Easter weekend be filled with love and care from family and friends and may you feel God's loving arms wrapped around you.

May the good news of Jesus’ resurrection fill you with love, joy, peace and hope.

Have a blessed Easter.

Submitted by Graham Buxton