Knowing that sin affects everyone can sometimes cause a personal disconnect for us and keep us from grasping the responsibility our sin plays in His suffering and death.
Easter is here again. A time when families come together in celebration to eat, share stories, and spend treasured time together. More than colorful eggs, baskets, bunnies, and chocolate candy, for Christian families, it’s especially meaningful because it’s a time when we remember the cross and what Jesus accomplished on it for our eternal salvation.
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die’” (John 11:25).
Because we celebrate Easter throughout the years, its meaning to each one of us may have grown, deepened, or changed, influenced by our individual memories and new experiences. From childhood to adulthood, we may discover Easter anew each year, possibly in unexpected ways.
Easter’s Meaning to Us
Below are some believer’s thoughts on what Easter means to them. Through shared words, experiences, and memories, we may find camaraderie with one another that enriches us in ways that bring joy, peace, comfort, encouragement, and consolation to our own meanings of Easter:
Elementary School counselor, Lora Lynch, writes, “Easter is a time to reflect upon how faithful God has been in my life. Even with plenty of snow on the ground in Alaska, I see glimpses of Spring. As I watch the birds fluttering from branch to branch out my kitchen window, I’m reminded how God cares for the little sparrows as much as He cares for me (Luke 12:7).
“As a breast cancer survivor who had two little boys, 12 months and 2 ½ years old, at the time, I am reminded of how God cared about each strand of my hair that I lost. He strengthened and upheld my family and myself through every step of the chemo, mastectomy, and radiation process.
“As Psalm 18:2-3 describes, ‘The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.’
“He has been my protector, provider, and hope, and because of Him, I can choose to be thankful for each little moment that comes my way. Far more than the challenges of cancer, Jesus suffered for me on the cross, so that I would not have to pay the penalty for my sins. He is my hope and my future, and He has given me the gift of life. I am thankful for each day He brings with my family and those He brings into my path.”
Singer Lorri Hafer shares, “As a child, Easter always brought dressing up, usually a new dress for church, patent leather shoes, white socks trimmed with lace, and my little purse to match my shoes. It also brought an Easter basket with lots of chocolate, of course. First, we attended church, and afterward, we’d eat out, or sometimes Mama would cook roasted lamb with mint jelly and mint sauce.
“I remember dying Easter eggs in bright colors and hiding them in our apartment. The carpet was forest green, so the colors were easy to spot. Now that my parents are gone, the memories become even more precious. Family time was always special. It still is. I am so grateful.”
Wife, mother, and grandmother, Julie Ford, writes, “What does Easter mean to me? I see Easter as a time of celebration. Jesus was resurrected on Easter Sunday, 3 days after His death by crucifixion, and because of this, He conquered death and redeemed us from sin. As a woman with significant health issues, I see this as my hope for life eternal.
“Fourteen years ago, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (a cancer of the bone marrow) and was told there was no cure and that I had two years to live. While significant improvements have been made in multiple myeloma treatment, there is still no cure, and I know I could (and will) relapse at any time. Death is very real to me. However, the hope of Easter tells me that because I believe Jesus died and was resurrected, I will also defeat death by being resurrected in Heaven. What an awesome gift we have been given!”
Retired teacher Pamela Trask describes, “When I was very young, Easter meant dyeing hardboiled eggs with a PAAS coloring kit, hunting around the house after Dad hid those eggs, and enjoying a basket full of yellow Peeps and jelly beans on Easter morning.
“Then Mom took us to church. In my childish mind, it was that fun holiday between Christmas and the 4th of July. There’s nothing wrong with fun family traditions. But now that I have known and loved my risen Savior for over 50 years, those are just distractions. I’m glad those memories have faded and Easter has given way to Resurrection Sunday.
“My excitement for this high and holy day no longer includes games and goodie baskets. Instead, I want to be in church with other believers. I want to be greeted with ‘He is risen!’ And then I respond, ‘He is risen indeed!’ I want to sing ‘He Lives’ and ‘Hallelujah, What a Savior!’ I want to turn up the volume on Keith Green’s ‘Easter’s Song’ and shout, ‘Joy to the world!’
“That’s what Resurrection Sunday is all about—joyfully announcing our risen Savior Jesus Christ. He said He would rise again, and He did. That means we can trust absolutely everything else He said, like that He will never leave us or forsake us. He’s coming again, and He has prepared a place in Heaven for those who love Him.
“Everything about our Christian faith and our future hinges on the good news that Jesus Christ is alive! That thrills my old soul much more than any egg hunt or basket of jelly beans I ever did when I was a child.”
Easter reminds me how growing up in church as a pastor’s daughter was a busy time for our family, full of preparations and activities focused on our church services, including Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
From early on in my life, I knew Easter focused on the death and resurrection of Jesus. Although I knew the story and the importance of accepting Jesus into my heart and receiving salvation, I didn’t really understand the depth of it.
I grew up singing and believing that “Jesus Loves Me,” but the realization that my sin was the reason for His death didn’t really register. For many of us, we are not sure it does. We may see it more as a universal problem, like in John 3:16, which states that “God so loved the world.”
Knowing that sin affects everyone can sometimes cause a personal disconnect for us and keep us from grasping the responsibility our sin plays in His suffering and death. Still, the truth is that our sin is why Jesus died to pay for it and set us free from a very real debt, one that, if left unpaid, brings eternal death and separation from God.
Like Romans 6:23 explains, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Understanding more about why Jesus died to give us life makes Easter even more meaningful than ever before. Acts 4:12 reminds us that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Easter’s Eternal Hope
For some of us, we have experienced Easter while walking through distressful, sad, and life-changing events and times where our whole world seemed to be turned upside down, possibly dealing with devastating losses or facing life-or-death issues we didn’t ever invite or anticipate in our lives.
Still, 1 Corinthians 1:18 explains, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
And Easter is a life-or-death story of earthly life ending and eternal life beginning. As Mark 16:1 describes, “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.”
But when they arrived very early, just after sunrise, the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty. Greeted by angels, Luke 24:5 seems to say it all, “In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
Easter is a time to look beyond earthly death to the promise and fulfillment of eternal life. As a hospice chaplain’s wife, one Easter sunrise service, we sat outside a Palm Beach County, Florida, mausoleum with its beautifully landscaped grounds, surrounded by tombs still occupied, but with the hope and promise of one day being made empty.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 describes, “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/udra
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
