I just experienced a wonderful Easter weekend, and I hope you did too. I was able to attend services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. In between, we had four generations gathered at our home for an Easter celebration. We had a delicious meal, sang a couple of Easter songs, had an Easter egg hunt for the kids, and finished with a family kickball game to conclude the festivities. It was a great weekend.
Many people probably had similar weekends, though some may have had less church-related activities and more focus on rest or recreation. People could have gone to the lake or the beach or mountains or spent the weekend working in the yard. Many people would say that they had a good weekend, maybe even a great one. But that is not the point of Easter. Eater has meaning. For many, Easter may be an enjoyable annual event, but it may not be meaningful. In fact, for most of the world, Easter is meaningless.
Why there is No Meaning
Easter is not meaningless because the resurrection of Jesus is not true. Paul said that if Christ is not raised from the dead, then everything about the Christian faith is meaningless, but that is not the issue I am speaking about. Jesus is alive, raised from the dead, and everything about His life and teaching is of utmost and eternal significance. At the same time, however, it is a fact that the resurrection of Jesus has no meaning for many.
The population of the earth is approaching 8 billion people. Of that number, at least two-thirds claim no relationship to Jesus Christ. Close to fifty percent of that number know so little about Jesus and the message of the Bible that they have never had a legitimate opportunity to respond to the message of the Gospel. For them, Easter has no meaning or significance. The other half of that population have heard the Gospel somehow and have simply not responded to the Christian message of salvation by grace, through faith. For these also, Easter has no meaning.
More than an Easter Bunny
That leaves us with approximately one-third of the global population that would identify themselves as Christians. One would think that for these, Easter would be significant, and for many of that number, it certainly is. However, for some professing Christians, the celebration of Easter means little more than an opportunity for recreation. Easter might be a fun time, but it is certainly not a meaningful or spiritually significant time for them. There are many for whom Easter is more about a bunny and brightly colored eggs. For others, it is primarily an excuse to buy some new clothes. For some people who go to church each Easter, their lives show no effect the rest of the year by the resurrection of Jesus.
Tell the Story of Easter
The truth is that Easter is not such a big deal for most of the world, even for many professing Christians. Part of what Easter does mean for all who have discovered the profound, life-changing significance of it is that we must make sure the rest of the world will not continue to have meaningless Easters. From the angel at the tomb through the final words of Jesus at His ascension, the Bible shows us to tell others the story. Easter is significant, so significant in the fact that we must make sure that those who don’t know the message of the Gospel have a chance to hear and receive it. We must tell the story of Easter! I love to tell the story. Let’s do all we can to make sure no one has a meaningless Easter. Let’s tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
As Lent commences on Ash Wednesday, we are entering a time of introspection and prayer leading to Easter. Let us reflect on the significance of death preceding resurrection, urging readers to embrace a daily practice of surrendering self in preparation for our spiritual transformation.