Did the Easter weekend change you? As we had a few days off to remember and celebrate the facts of Jesus’ death and resurrection, did these days make an impact on your life? Many people take Easter as a chance to have that last swim before the cooler autumn months or to head off camping or to catch up with old friends. Has Easter just become another holiday for us to enjoy?
However, with all these good opportunities around us to take it easy, they don’t change the events surrounding Easter. The facts about Easter don’t go away even though many people do not seem to pay them as much attention as they deserve.
Yet, history is full of people who, when confronted by the events of Easter, are surprised by the truth of these facts and then realize that they are compelled to change. Take for example the Apostle Paul. At first Paul, named Saul, was one of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who was deeply opposed to Jesus and his message. Saul thought that the message of the first Easter was a huge scam – how could this Jesus be the Saviour of the world? And as for a man rising from the dead that had to be a huge joke!
Saul thought the whole thing about Jesus was such a deception that he even went from town-to-town jailing people who believed the message about the risen Jesus. He continued doing this until one day Saul was confronted by the risen Jesus himself. What a shock, Saul had been wrong! The message about Jesus’ death, his resurrection, it was true! Not only did this truth cause Saul to change his name to Paul, but it also caused him to change the whole direction of his life. Once where he was actively opposed to Jesus, Paul now took every opportunity to urge people to put their trust in the risen Jesus.
This is how Paul himself described his new role, urging people to open their eyes and turn from darkness to light and lose the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness and a place among God’s people.
In more recent times, you may recall the story of the English journalist Frank Morrison, who authored the classic Who Moved the Stone. Morrison had set out to discount the resurrection as a myth, but the evidence he found convinced him otherwise.
What principles then can we hang onto that will help us to strengthen our trust in the resurrection of Jesus? Jesus said to Thomas after silencing his doubts with tangible proof of the Easter miracle: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Except for the five hundred or so people to whom the resurrected Jesus appeared, every Christian who has lived falls into the category “blessed.”
Some of these important principles for us to consider include studying Scripture, getting to know our God, comprehending His love for humankind, developing our faith in His divine plan and having a hope that our future is secure through the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
You know, it is not too late to let the facts about Easter change you.
Bill Gillard