Reflections on Easter

Yesterday, Christians all over the world celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and I am glad to say I was part of that celebration. We had a great day at Emmanuel. Actually, we had a great Easter weekend. On Friday night we had a communion service, in which we reminded ourselves and others of Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross. On Saturday we had a churchwide family picnic and egg hunt. We had a lot of fun and were able to share the gospel with those who came. Then on Easter Sunday we provided a nice breakfast prior to our worship service, during which the choir presented the musical, "You Thought of Us."

This morning I am grateful for the investments made by so many people. There is no way I could acknowledge them all by name, but God knows them and He saw them in their service, whether it was hiding eggs, preparing and serving food, setting up tables, singing songs, serving the Lord's Supper, handling sound and lights, helping people find a seat, playing with children, cleaning up after events, opening and locking doors, etc., and he will see to it that they receive their reward. What a joy and privilege it is to serve!

Now that Easter is past, the tendency is for many Christians to relax, but now is when the real work begins. The challenge is for us to learn how to live in this world post-resurrection. I think we would do well to look at the lives of the early Christians as models for how to do that. The world in which they lived was very much the same after that first Easter as it was before, but they were very much changed, and their personal transformation was the catalyst for the rapid spread and advance of the gospel. As they gave themselves to the teaching of God's Word, prayer, worship, evangelism, and fellowship, so must we, and as we do may the Lord be pleased to bestow upon us the same grace and power that the early church experienced.