Last Thursday, Maundy Thursday, our youngest daughter Meredith got engaged. It has been fun to celebrate, but this is not the main event. There will be an engagement party, bridal showers, and eventually a wedding. Yet this still is not the main event. It is a bit like Easter. This past Easter was glorious with the music and all the special services, but if we are honest, it is what happens on the day after Easter that has the most impact on our lives.
Like a wedding with all the planning, it is still only about the life that will begin after the wedding is over. A life as a new family, together for ever. The reality of Easter is also the life we live after Easter is over. Because of Easter, we are gifted with the hope of eternal life. Because of Easter, we now have the power to overcome sin in our lives.
Because of Easter, we can know resurrected life in any situation that we struggle with or experience despair. Because of Easter the Holy Spirit can reside within anyone who desires Him. Because of Easter we have the comfort and strength that comes with the Holy Spirit. Because of Easter we have been gifted with spiritual gifts that help us expand the Kingdom of God. Because of Easter, we have hope every single day, regardless of how horrible the day is or what we experience.
All because of Easter. Romans 8:11 says," If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you." This is the hope of Easter. While Easter is glorious, what happens the next day, the next week, and the next year is far more wonderous all because of an empty tomb and a risen Savior.