Easter Sunday – one of the happiest
days of the year. “He is risen! Hallelujah!”
But what about Monday?
The day after Jesus rose from the
dead…guess what, He was still alive.
We so often forget that. We only celebrate His life on Easter Sunday, when the resurrection should be the JOY that fuels us every day of the year.
We so often forget that. We only celebrate His life on Easter Sunday, when the resurrection should be the JOY that fuels us every day of the year.
My pastor said last week that we need
to preach the gospel to ourselves everyday.
I think this especially applies to the resurrection. How would your life change if you were
celebrating Jesus’ resurrection daily?
If the celebration of Easter Sunday was your daily attitude?
I’m
reading a book for a class right now that I didn’t think I would like. Turns out its amazing and I cannot put it
down. James Wilhoit says, “The gospel is
the power of God for the beginning, middle, and end of salvation. It is not merely what we need to proclaim to
unbelievers; the gospel also needs to permeate our entire Christian
experience.”1
I woke up Easter morning plagued with
anxiety. Will I have enough money to pay
for everything? Will I be able to finish my thesis in time? Will we burn Easter dinner in the crockpot?!
It is Resurrection Sunday. Jesus died and rose again so that I don’t
have to battle fear. So that I don’t
have to feel pinned down by my sin. When
He died, our sin died, and when He rose, we rose again in freedom.
We are not the same. “It is
no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me!”
Fear can’t own us. Death can’t defeat us. My favorite hymn
shouts in celebration: “As He stands in
victory, sin’s curse has lost its grip on me, for I am His, and He is mine,
bought with the precious blood of Christ.”
The Resurrection did not just raise
Jesus from the dead. It resurrected us
as well. He defeated death, not just for
Himself but for us all. We too are
resurrected. We are a new creation, free
to be who He designed us to be, free to live life and live it abundantly (John 10:10).
That is what it looks like to preach
gospel to yourself. Wake up every
morning and remind yourself that not only did Jesus die so you could be saved, He rose again so you could live. Fully and freely. With no fear or shame or insecurity. You are saved and loved and free.
Preach.that.daily.
Today? It is resurrection Monday. Oh glorious day.
(This song? Beautiful description of the events of Easter. Makes me cry.every.time.)
[1] James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church
Mattered, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 29.
No comments:
Post a Comment