Daylight is coming!

by Cynthia Hopkins

If you’re going to run a race well, you don’t just head out there on the day of the run and legitimately think you’ll do your best. To do your best, you have to train and work on your endurance, so that you’re well prepared on race day.

So how do you actually prepare for Easter? Easter is the most important holiday for Christians, the Sunday when we commemorate and celebrate what Jesus did for us—what His death and resurrection actually means and how it affects our daily lives.

Christianity is about relationship rather than religion, and how you celebrate Easter reveals much about that relationship.

How you celebrate says what you believe
How you celebrate Easter shows what you believe about Jesus. Even Jesus-followers can be confused about His purpose in the world. You see, even though the disciples had spent every day with Jesus, they still didn’t get it. They didn’t understand what His life was all about. They didn’t understand that He didn’t come to fix socio­economic inequalities; He came to save the world from sin.

Jesus lived on earth so that He could die for the sins of every person who ever lives. That’s why Easter is the single most important Christian celebration. Easter gives meaning to Christmas. When we celebrate Jesus’ birth with Christmas carols and pageants, we’re acknowledging the fact that Jesus came to this earth so that He could make a way for our salvation. When we ready our hearts and minds for that special day of celebrating His death and resurrection, we pour out an invaluable fragrant offering of our own.

How you celebrate says what your priorities are
How you celebrate Easter exposes your present priorities. Those same disciples were in the garden with Jesus the night He was betrayed. Jesus knew what was coming, and He told the disciples to pray, but they couldn’t even stay awake for one hour before they fell asleep. When Jesus woke them up, He said, “Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). He wanted the disciples to pray because they were about to face temptation like never before, and the world would be watching. How the disciples responded would effectively determine the future of Christianity.

It’s not a difficult thing to let the cares of the world overtake eternal priorities in your heart and mind. Take some time—some focused, set-aside time—to focus on Easter, not just because it’s a holiday or it’s the holiday you think Christians, of all people, should be excited about. Prepare for it because of what it means—because of what Jesus did for you.

How you celebrate says what you think about the future
How you celebrate Easter reveals your hope for the future.

The problem with self–sacrifice is that it’s never going to be good enough, no matter how hard you try. If your hope for eternity rests on your good works, then you’re going to fall short every time. Preparing for Easter has little to do with personal sacrifice, and everything to do with setting hearts and minds on the eternal hope that is promised to us in Christ Jesus.

Jesus told the religious leaders who questioned Him before His death, “In the future, you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64). No matter what yesterday, today, or tomorrow holds, He is coming back. His death made way for His resurrection, and His resurrection paved the way for His victorious return. Looking forward to Easter is looking forward to His return and our blessed privilege of eternity with Him in heaven.

Jesus Christ is our salvation, our help for the present, and our hope for the future. Will your heart and mind be ready to celebrate and worship Him this Easter? Easter is coming. The world is watching.. ec

9 Ways to prepare for easter
• Participate in the Lord’s Supper at your church.
• Avoid the commercialism surrounding the weekend.
• Read one of the Gospels start to finish.
• Do your part to make amends with anyone with whom you are in conflict.
• Read a book about the meaning of Easter such as He Chose You, 3:16, or And the Angels Were Silent, all by Max Lucado.
• Journal prayers of thanks for Jesus’ death and resurrection.
• Tell someone else why Easter is important to you.
• Suggest a weekly devotion time with your family.
• Spend some time in solitude with God, inviting Him to reveal your sins. Then confess those sins and turn from them.

© 2008 LifeWay Christian Resources
Cynthia Hopkins, "Getting Ready for Easter. . Now." ec magazine, March 2009, LifeWay Christian Resources: Nashville, 2008, p. 40-42.

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