Easter

*this post will be full of grammatical errors. You will notice that I go from "I" to "you" to "us/we" throughout paragraphs. Don't let that stop you from reading. I had to do it that way because this post was written for me as well.

What goes through your mind when reading this verse? Did your eyes glaze over, skimming over the words due to the fact that you know this verse well, that you already believe and so there's nothing new for you to read?

Did you read this verse thinking about sporting events, where John 3:16 is often written on Bristol board being held by spectators?

Did you roll your eyes, thinking "Oh great. Here she goes again, bringing up God and the Bible"?

Did you read it, knowing you've seen this and heard this message before, but what does it really mean and is it meant for you?

Does it cross your mind that yes, you know there's a God, and know of His Son's work on the cross, but you struggle with trying to comprehend the fact that He is able (and willing!) to forgive your sins? Even the one that gets you every time?

Wherever you are in this journey of life, whether spiritual or not, you can't help but know that Easter has come and gone. You only had to take a stroll through your town's store to know that it was a weekend of celebration. But of what? The Easter bunny? Chocolate eggs?? Having a long weekend? Family time?

What does "Easter" mean to you? To me? And the bigger question: do I live out what Easter means to me? Even when this weekend passes?? Or do I just pay attention to Jesus on this weekend and once it passes, I keep going on my merry own way, doing my own things?

Although Christmas gets its fair share of attention and is completely taken over by commercialism, Easter is certainly catching up. Every year the frenzy grows, now to the point where gifts are exchanged.

For Christians, Easter brings upon us a mixture of emotions: happy, sad, joyous, remorse, repentant, excitement, just to name a few. We are sad for our sinful state, for the reason why Christ had to die on the cross. We are joyful for the fact that He did not stay dead, but and was raised to life 3 days later. We are humbled and overwhelmed with the reason why God sent His Son to the earth in the first place: to forgive your and my sin; to reconcile us back to Him through the death and resurrection of His Son, that we may now live in Him and for Him, receiving comfort in His promises of eternal life.

So, knowing that God sent His Son for me and for you, what do we do with this knowledge? Does it give you hope? Do we say we believe this and then go on in our daily lives, not giving it another thought? Does it make me become complacent and say I am safe anyway so I can just keep on living the way I want? Or does this knowledge humble us, bring us down to our knees and recognize what God has done for us, such undeserving sinners? Does it make us want to immerse ourselves in the Word, where we may get to know more about this God?

Knowing what Christ has done for us, such pitiful creatures, can sometimes leave us with a feeling of helplessness. We want control and so we think we like to "help" out so we may be guaranteed to receive eternal life, our salvation. Are there ways?  Can I earn this forgiveness through good deeds? Will I go to heaven because I was good and kind to those around me.....even giving lots of money to those in need?  What kind of good deeds can I do in order to be saved?

My friends, what if I told you there is not a single good deed that will save us. Would you find that liberating? Or would you find that hard to believe because we like to have control over everything?

Don't get me wrong......it's not like we can't do anything; that just because it's all out of our control, there is nothing for us to do. There is:  believe. You can either believe His Word or forsake it. You can be truly repentant and ask for forgiveness of sins (yes, for any sin), or throw this message aside.

If you do ask for true forgiveness, it'll become clear that it doesn't just stop at that. Once we comprehend the love and grace of our God, we can't help but then live for Him, and only for Him. Your life will then show a life of thankfulness to God, having His Will as priority in your life.

Sounds so simple, eh? But as you will very well know, to "believe" this message can be so difficult. God knew that. That is why He didn't only give us His Son, He also gave us His Spirit. We can not believe this message without His Spirit there to soften our hearts. And it is this Spirit that we pray for to help us on this journey that is called 'life'.

May we ask for His mercy and forgiveness, as well as wisdom to know more about God. May we grasp this message and hang onto it tightly; because, although we see His love through His Son, we also see His love through His warnings to us, which we can read just past verse 15. Read further and this is what He says:

"Whoever believes in Him is not condemned , but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." NIV John 3: 18.

It's not too late!! Christ has not come back yet. The end of time has not arrived. That means God is being patient with us, giving us time to repent and believe. But don't wait and say "Ah, I'll do this tomorrow when I have time." No. We don't know when this promised King will come back again, so although it may not be too late this minute, it may be tonight.

Are you and I ready?