The Easter holidays have come and gone. But what is Easter really about? Hopefully much more than chocolate eggs and bunny rabbits! In fact Easter has a lot to say to us in what can feel like an increasingly challenging and hostile world.

The following 3 minute video was part of a series made by my church, All Souls Langham Place in Central London.  In it I explain what Easter means to me. I set out to make a case why Easter should be celebrated not just once a year, but actually has implications and ramifications for every day of the year!

Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That death, according to the Bible scriptures, was not an unintended accident. It was prophecised and planned as the central act of history.

Here is what Eugene Peterson, scholar, and author of the widely acclaimed modern paraphrase of the Bible scripture, ‘The Message,’ says about the cross of Christ:

“The single, overwhelming fact of history is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. There is no military battle, no geographical exploration, no scientific discovery, no literary creation, no artistic achievement, no moral heroism, that compares with it. It is unique, massive, monumental, unprecedented, and unparalleled. The cross of Christ is not a small secret that may or may not get out. The cross of Christ is not a minor incident in the political history of the first century that is a nice illustration of courage. It is the centre.
The cross of Christ is the central fact to which all other facts subordinate.”

That’s a bold assertion to be made!

But what does that mean personally for me and for anyone else who chooses to bring the implications of Easter into their own life?

It is that as death has been conquered through the cross of Christ, then our bad experiences can turn out for good; the good experiences of this life can never be lost and the best is yet to come! My best days are not behind me, but in front of me!

Also there is the security that comes from knowing I am loved as I am. I have nothing to prove. I am completely accepted by God, not because of my goodness or attempted goodness (which fluctuates and is so fickle), but by the perfect life and obedience of Christ. And in addition to all that, the living presence of God through the Holy Spirit means there is the potential to live life with confidence and joy, no matter what the challenges and setbacks that come.

I need to remember that every day! How about you? What does Easter mean to you?

We explore that more in last week’s Podcast #028: The God I Don’t Understand