Easter and the Resurrection of Christ: about the meaning of the event for us

About the essence of the holiday

The best and greatest holiday that could ever be for me, in a spiritual sense, is Easter, since I understood its meaning for myself, and for people who recognized Jesus Christ as Lord, that it was this Man who redeemed their lives so that they could have eternal life in Heaven.

In this article I will not cover the confirmation of the prehistory of the holiday: the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. But if you would like to explore this topic, here is a link to my older article.
Perhaps some of the readers will be surprised: why is this holiday the best? Why not Christmas, the birth of the Son of God, which reflects the embodiment of goodness, hope, and in general if Christmas has a beautiful story without such a plot about sacrifice and suffering, as is associated with Easter? Somehow I can understand this question. Many people therefore look at this holiday as a spring holiday, with Easter eggs, or, for example, bunnies in the West. But if you look at the original meaning of the holiday, which humanity understood from the very beginning (by the way, just like the meaning of Christmas), then the picture is completely different.

I will note in advance that some things in this article would require a more detailed, theological explanation, but I will cover the topic more briefly, leaving you room for reflection and independent research.

Before I continue, I will make a few remarks:

• Both Christmas and Easter are holidays where Jesus Christ (as Christians acknowledge, God and man at the same time) figures in the center; only at Christmas do we celebrate His rather modest birth, and at Easter – His resurrection, the triumphant transition from life to Sheol, and from there back to life, having defeated death for you and me;
• If we really celebrate the spiritual meaning of these holidays, we are united not by something that concerns only society or country, not by natural phenomena, and not by what humanity has done, but by what God has done for humanity;
• This Person accomplished something truly triumphant, which does not cease to captivate entire generations to this day: all the forces that clearly embodied evil and the spiritual forces of evil rejoiced when Jesus was crucified, as if He could no longer save Himself, but at the time when He was resurrected, these forces of evil fell silent, were put to shame, and from that time on had no power over people who live with Christ;
• The moment of Christ's Resurrection literally changed all of humanity - the apostolic church, life in peace with God, completely different values ​​that changed the "spiritual clock" of an entire civilization and many spheres of people's lives, the opportunity to turn to God in prayer anywhere outside the temple, and most importantly - the opportunity for each of us to receive the gift of life with God (in earthly and eternal life), recognizing Jesus as God and deciding to follow Him in life.

 

How does this apply to our lives?

If many of these things are unclear to you, I will try to give a fairly easy explanation.
Try to look at this world and this life as an excursion - through everything you have learned about it. It is interesting, there are good things in it, but it is also full of injustice, sadness, pain, disgusting things. Now, if we look at ourselves, even if you are a good person, you can still notice a lot in ourselves that we would like to change. Each of us has a lot of mistakes, sins and things that have distanced or are distanced from the holy and perfect God, the more a person lives without God. And we are not talking only about some obvious things that can harm us and others, but about what has long been in our human nature, which separates and distances us from God: the desire to be our own god, selfishness, wrong thinking that generates an incorrect life, the desire to be guided by passions, unforgiveness, arrogance, self-aggrandizement, condemnation, infidelity... You have probably noticed: in all this there is a desire to live for ourselves, but not for God, not for His glory. Some of this may be forgotten by us, but it does not disappear anywhere. Some of this even a person himself is not able to notice in himself, but he can condemn others for these same things. We cannot even imagine a world in which there is no sin and which is not spoiled by sin, but it is easier for modern skeptics to deny this concept, claiming that such a world has always been. But if you think carefully, everything that is bad, that brings evil and destruction, is more a consequence – a chain reaction of past events (human choices).

There is an interesting thing. If we lose sight of God, do not think about Him, or deny Him as we could know Him, it becomes easy for us to accept the state of things we have, to say that this is how it should be and that the person is not to blame for all this. It is very easy to adopt a similar position. The bitter truth is that this is not so. If we really sincerely desire to discover the true God, we will definitely encounter His holiness, and this in turn will help us to discover how huge the gap is between man and God. The reason for this gap is sin.

But did a perfect God intend such a world? And doesn't He want our free will to change something while we are alive and have time? His plan is to change it, but now with the participation of our choice!

 

The perspective of Easter for us

As I like to remind you, if there is a choice, as a necessary condition of our existence with you, then any thing does not depend only on one side: either on God or on man. Thus, some part belongs to us, and some to God or the Son. We can recognize Jesus as our Lord and live for His glory, say to God "Here I am, my life belongs to You, lead my life." And the role of God is in what has already been accomplished on the cross, and in what He will do if a person does his part – the Lord will endow such a person with the Spirit, give him a new life on earth (the opportunity to become a New Man in Christ) and eternal life according to the promise, make his life fruitful and blessed.

Jesus was not a martyr. He was a unique Person. God thus revealed Himself in flesh and blood. His blood destroyed all the curses in our lives: the curses of deceit, infidelity, condemnation, betrayal... He showed us the meaning of loyalty: to put the message and will of the Heavenly Father above oneself. That is why Jesus said that "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). Jesus is the Word of God and the expression of God's feelings for us, people. Jesus renounced his own privileges out of love for us!

This may sound like a challenge to you, but if you submit your life to God, if you seek Him with all your heart, you will not be deceived. Relationships are built on trust, so when you trust what Jesus taught, that embodying His example will make you a New Person in the Lord, incredible prospects will open up for you that will bring joy, and you will want to share this with other people. Let us recall from the book of John 7:17 how Jesus said: "If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority" (ESV). Jesus also said: "The Father has not left Me alone, because I do whatever pleases Him." We too, if we obey God and live as He teaches, then we will not be alone, His support will always be with us, in any situation.

 

What do we gain practically in life, besides eternal life?

I will leave here a simple truth that once struck me: eternal life begins now, from the day we accept Christ as our Lord. For me, as for many of us, at first it was always divided - earthly life and eternal. But in reality this would be illogical. If we try to look at it through God's eyes, when a person lives his life without a relationship with God, without understanding the meaning of Christ's sacrifice for himself, without knowing God, how will he be ready to enter a new period - a new life in a completely different dimension?

Paul in 1st to Corinthians 15:42-44 writed so:

So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal. [Dan 12:3] It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength; it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

Without delving into theology, the message of the Apostle Paul should be clear: there must be some power that will pick us up in this earthly life, while we are in the body, so that we can cross over to eternal life. Something that will connect one with the other. This power is the Spirit, which a person is endowed with when he takes this decisive step towards God, and Jesus Christ serves as the crossing to eternal life.

It is from this moment that these practical things begin, in the New Man and in his new redeemed life. Using my example, I will say that for me it was not instantaneous. However, over time my life began to acquire a qualitatively different momentum, if I may say so.

1. Freedom. The freedom that Christ gives to a person cannot be compared with the freedom of the secular world. It is not only freedom from any dependencies. It is the opportunity to choose God's path in a given situation, to be free from past sins and to become increasingly free from everything that can enslave or destroy happiness. It is freedom from the influence and attacks of evil from the spiritual world, knowing that to be freed from this it is enough to call on the Name of Christ in prayer and be filled with the Spirit. Freedom also consists in the fact that a Christian ceases to be dependent on everything perishable and temporary that exists in life, but relies on the eternal and unchanging.
2. The desire to live a holy life. Very rarely it is about monasticism or something similar. This very moment can cause various contradictions in people. Because holy desires, thoughts, actions, etc. may not be understandable to the culture or contradict some of the usual principles by which most people live. The desire for sanctification is a struggle, but it must be followed by victory and good changes, which in turn bring joy and good fruits. These changes then manifest themselves in all respects. The struggle with sins, with bad character traits, with some cultural habits - all this is of great importance. When the Lord helps a person get rid of the old (harmful) and acquire the new, in fact, much changes in him, for the better.
3. God gives a person a new "ship" and sets the direction of movement. Another thing is what is the incentive for the movement of a Christian through life: when God wants to use the desires, talents, good motivation of a person, if only he is ready to move as the Lord wants, and when he/she decides to follow His ways. This is really different from when a person plans something on his/her own, without seeking God's will for it. Even when he/she chooses to go his own way that seems good to him and to others, and the Lord has nothing to do with that, it will be something temporary (at best occasion). However, God's path will never lead you into an abyss, disappointment or a state of hopelessness. Because when God gives you understanding how and where to move, He also reveals to you why His plan is much better, more promising, more reliable, and one that will lead to a truly good ending. God's ship is not just a place of self-realization and self-knowledge, it reflects God's plan, an opportunity for a person to be dedicated to some great cause and accomplish something more meaningful in life than it may seem for you at first.
4. Trust in God. I confess that this is what God is teaching me now. This process is not easy, nevertheless it gives a person confidence in the future, spiritual strength to withstand the "storms of life", a feeling of support from the Lord. So in the process he learns to have God's peace which strengthens and replaces anxiety. A person becomes more able to act according to what God says, more decisive in this, I would say.
5. Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We begin to hear God, the Holy Spirit in life, to perceive God. And His words are often not based on feelings, but they are in harmony with the messages of the Holy Scriptures. Some have one gift, some another. The apostle Paul wrote about these spiritual gifts: wisdom (not just life wisdom, but also the ability to understand and apply the truth), knowledge (the ability to have God's perspective on the information received), faith (which becomes greater, more perfect), the accomplishment of something extraordinary (supernatural, for example, healing), prophecy, discerning of spirits and the spiritual world, the gift of interpretation of tongues (explanation of the meaning of prophetic tongues).
6. Filling with new strength. This is felt especially when we are filled with the Spirit of God. In my life, I remember several vivid examples when, where it seemed that strength was about to run out, I was filled with the desire and strength to serve someone or to show initiative in something. It is unlikely that any material things can be a stimulus when there are no such supporting resources, especially in cases where complete dedication of oneself is required. Only God gives such an unusual resource to be able to give to others what you yourself lack, and you realize that you can rely only on Him.
7. An example for others. This is my last point, although there could have been more. 🙂 Remember, I wrote about new horizons? So, when a person (a Christian) holds on tightly to Christ, is filled with the Spirit, lives by His will, he inspires others with his life: relationships, attitude to life's challenges and the ability to overcome these challenges, wisdom, love for people and for God. He is able not only to invest in himself, but also to invest in other people, while, unlike various non-Christian coaches, a person can help another come to God and find His path. His faith convictions do not contradict the way he lives, although there are not so many such true Christians in the world, whose words always reflect their actions. Their service to others, their attitude to work, first of all reflects the heart of God, and not an attempt to get something in return or take advantage of some privileges. And for the most part, I didn't notice that it made such people lose themselves by focusing on others.

 

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One of the consequences of salvation is that when we believe in Christ, God not only saves us – He also gives us the power to live according to His will for us. Your life in Christ is a life filled with the Holy Spirit living within you.

This is a great gift, but also the one that can change us the most. It is because of the Spirit of God within us, from the moment we accept Christ and begin to live with Him, that we can take these steps that will truly bring us closer to God, leading us to His perfection. It does not matter what it is: eradicating bad habits, patterns of thinking that are difficult to get rid of, difficulties in relationships or unforgiveness... The apostle Paul reminds Timothy that God's Spirit does not give us a spirit of fear or of insecurity, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Clearly, life of the Spirit is way different way to live. It's not about mustering up enough willpower to make better decisions. It's not about combining the right amount of affirmations to overcome insecurity, and it's not about cowering in fear when facing opposition. The Holy Spirit gives us the desire and power to endure hard things. Now we should be confident in who Jesus says we are. And when we are making choices, we have to do them so they honor God and show love to others around you. With Holy Spirit we can live more boldly, freely and rightly.

Life with Christ gives us the desire to move forward, even when we face difficult situations or when we are old. In Joshua 14:10–11, Caleb, who was 85 years old, said, “I am as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me…” When we focus on God, on the unchanging and eternal, we become more like Him in our hearts, motives, attitudes, desires, and ability to love Him and others, while learning humility and submissiveness.