“We live and die; Christ died and lived!” ~ John Stott

Every year we are reminded to look at Easter not as an occasion for chocolate eggs or to buy new clothes but remember what Easter is all about. But let us try to picture what it would be like not to have an Easter at all. Sure, we will not have an excuse to go shopping or have an extra long weekend off from work. In fact Easter Sunday will be an ordinary Sunday. Good Friday would be nothing but an ordinary day that some “criminals” were crucified. Christmas would be nothing but an ordinary day on which an ordinary person was born. Come to think of it, Sundays would have been observed as the only day we get to get up late as there would be no such thing as church. Our Lord may have been observed as nothing but a prophet. So would His birth or death made any differences to our lives?

Maybe, Maybe not. We can not say “What would have happened if…, because it did happen. But He came down to earth in the form of Man to feel our pain. He died for us to save us for eternity. As a child, I was told I would go to a statue of our Lord and try to pick out the thorns from His crown. Now I know I can not as each sin of ours is a thorn in His forehead. Each time we knowingly do wrong we are piercing His side. We can pick out the thorns from His crown. By repenting for having put that thorn there. Our Father may have sent His Son not only to wash our sins but probably to give us a role model. We often turn to our parents as our role models. As a child I used to believe that parents were God sent to each individual in form of a human. It still, surprises me to realize my parents are not perfect. But that is another story. Christ in the form of man, was perfect. Which our parents cannot be. We should look to Him not only in times of trouble or when we feel we need His guidance. We should thank Him for each day He gives us, for giving us a new life.

I will end with a few words by Robert Flatt, “The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances” And that is a thought each of us can draw comfort and strength from at Easter time.