It's Easter! It's time to loosen the belt and pretend you like chocolate that isn't Cadburys.
It's a lonnnggg weekend. It's a time for family 'get-togethers' and pretending you don't know where all the chocolate is hidden... from your kids and your wife.
Easter is also a time to remember.
Easter is a time that we celebrate because of a moment in history. A moment where a king called Jesus died on a cross. The Roman Centurions nailed a sign on the cross that read 'King of the Jews' and they nailed it there to mock Him.
What kind of king is crucified? What kind of king wears a crown of thorns?
Answer: A Servant King.
A king who even when his followers and the crowds around rejected Him, chose to lay down His life for them.
To wash the feet of His followers and walk the streets with the poor and dine with the lonely.
On Good Friday we remember this sacrifice.
We remember that even as Jesus journeyed towards the cross, He took a moment to sit with His friends, his closest followers and we can read in the Bible how he, gave thanks.
I believe that is a principle for us today. Jesus, knowing full well the darkness he was walking towards... gave thanks.
In our hardest moments... our most challenging moments... we can still give thanks.
When we give thanks, we are living a life of gratitude.
Gratitude gives us perspective, it refocuses our purpose.
Gratitude spills over to generosity... and don't we want to be those kinds of people?
Whenever we live grateful, we put ourselves into a bigger story.
Maybe for you Easter is a time you can give thanks. What could you be grateful for? Family, a job, a friend, a COVID Free state, freedom? Use Easter to take a moment to give thanks.
For me Easter is a time to remember that no matter what happens in your life, you should always be able to look to the cross and know that God loves you. It is a time to remember that as we look at the empty grave on Easter Sunday we can know that God is with us and we will never be alone.
A time to remember that no matter how far life may have swept you; No matter how broken this world seems or your heart feels on the inside. Whether you were successful last year or you can already see the same mountain in front of you this year.
There is a God that loves you.
