Jesus is alive! The evidence is clearly seen by his hand of mercy and his loving care in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
During the Easter season, as we reflect on what
Jesus did as he took the sin of all mankind on himself and died on the cross,
we’re humbled and awed by his unconditional love for us. We have so much to be thankful for as we
think about his sacrificial death on our behalf and then his joyful
resurrection. Easter is such a happy day
as we celebrate our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Traditions are an important part of the Easter
celebration. Whether it’s memories of
when you were growing up or new ones that you’ve established in your family,
it’s a good thing to carry on traditions.
I’d like to share some of my treasured childhood memories with you…
When I was a little girl, when we woke up on Easter
morning, we found an Easter basket filled with delicious candy eggs and
chocolate bunnies by our bedside. We
hopped out of bed with anticipation for the day and quickly ate breakfast. Then we put on our brand new Easter
outfits.
Mother loved dressing us up, so my brothers wore
suits and ties, and my sisters and I got matching hats, gloves and little
purses to go with our frilly dresses.
Yes, we actually wore Easter bonnets!
(Here’s an interesting fact… The custom of new
clothes for Easter actually began when the early Christians were baptized the
day before Easter. After they were
baptized, they put on new clothes to show their new life in Christ.)
Before we could head off to church, we had our
family picture taken in our new Easter clothes.
Mother loved taking pictures. Now
that I’m grown up, I’m glad that we have all those old pictures. But at the time, we didn’t always enjoy it,
because she was a firm believer that, for the best lighting, we had to face the
bright sun. She would position us so
that the sun was behind the photographer and it was shining directly in our
eyes. So, a lot of our pictures show us
squinting or looking down because the bright sunshine made our eyes water! (I’m
the one in the white dress, yellow sweater and hat in the picture, looking down because of the bright sun in my eyes. My little brother, Paul, in my father's arms, is bothered by the sun in his eyes, too. Everyone else bravely squinted).
After church, we went to Nano and Papa’s house. They were my grandparents on my father’s side
and we often went to their house after church on Sunday. Easter was especially fun because my aunts,
uncles, and cousins would come over, too, and we had a big Easter egg hunt
after lunch.
(Another interesting fact: The tradition of colored Easter eggs started
in the Christian Orthodox churches of Eastern Europe .
The eggs were dyed red to symbolize the blood of Christ, and the hard shell
represents the stone covering His tomb. Cracking the shell open represents the
celebration of His resurrection.)
My prayer is that you’ll experience the wonder of
Easter with renewed hope and joy. And that
if you haven’t already done so, you’ll embrace God’s forgiveness of our sins
and his free gift of salvation. Remember, Christianity is not about
religion. It’s about a relationship with
Jesus Christ. We have been reconciled
with God through Jesus’ sacrificial death for us on the cross as payment for
our sins.
The awe-inspiring miracle of Easter is that Jesus
died and rose again. By his sacrifice he
brings hope for all people throughout eternity.
Happy Easter!
Martha
Praise be to the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new
birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in
heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming
of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls". 1 Peter 1:3-9
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