Just another holiday?

Holidays come and go. They’re just days, really. Though as a kid, we thought differently. At twelve-years-old, I was allowed to stay up to see the clock strike midnight on New Year’s eve. With all of the anticipation about the the new year, I was seriously disillusioned that there wasn’t more when the minute hand and the hour hand both hit twelve. Then at one minute after twelve, aside from a few pots and pans still banging outside, the dark hour became no more exciting than the fact that it was time to go to bed.

But not all holidays are alike.  Above and beyond, most people would probably say Christmas is their favorite holiday. Of course, this holiday is special because of Jesus’ miraculous incarnate birth. But there’s something to be said for Easter.

Of all the special holy days and traditions we ascribe to as part of our faith, there is none more significant to the Christian belief than Easter. Christ’s rising from the dead is significant in light of the fact that it is the fulcrum upon which our faith hinges. If he didn’t rise from the dead, to what purpose would our adherence to Jesus lie?

While honoring Christ would be a noble pursuit, even then, if he weren’t truly God in nature, then what has been proposed through the prophets and the Lord himself would be a lie. If Jesus didn’t die and rise to life again, then we who are believers in scripture are the most foolish. What’s more, we would still be dead in our sins.

Jesus’ death is significant for several reasons:  1) It defeats any and all of Satan’s arsenal to harm what is justified and protected by the Lord. 2) It demonstrates the power and glory of the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. 3) It shows the humility by which our God emptied himself in every conceivable way to prove to his creation how much he loves us.

While we celebrate our glorious Jesus every day in our hearts, soon we will commemorate his resurrection on Easter Sunday. His birth was miraculous, his rising from the dead, even more so.