An Honest Reflection: What is Easter to Me?

... not the commercialized holiday centered around candy, or the circle of life analogized by a rabbit. 

I am not asking about the day chosen, the dresses worn, the food eaten, or even the time you spend with family.

I am talking about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit to a virgin named Mary (Matthew 1:18) so that Christ, through His crucifixion (observed on Good Friday) and His resurrection (celebrated on Easter Sunday), can take the place of sacrifices by high Jewish priests and bridge the distancing void between humanity and God.

Through Jesus Christs' death and resurrection He became the last sacrifice for our sins to God, so that God could allow us to take a next step in our/humanity's relationship with Him (Hebrews 10). In doing this, and after the Holy Spirit was sent to help us connect with God, which was made possible by Jesus  Christ, we are given the opportunity to not just live in sin and then die, but to have the possibility to continue our existence in heaven following our mortal deaths.

This is just crazy! First of all, the concept of faith is so away from the black and white, 1+1 = 2 type of world we live in. However, a realm that is not of this world can not be quantified by the world if the realm is of something greater, right? This makes sense. Secondly, I support my belief in faith by because of faith based occurrences and movements of the Holy Spirit that I have seen flowing through people. I think the closest thing I could relate it to is a cross between coincidence, direction and fulfillment in the lens of acting righteously (which I attempt). It is a different kind of wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit, this type of cross which I described. Wisdom (a heavy term for someone like me - maybe one day I will be wise in the Holy Spirit, I pray so) isn't something one can really describe until they have it, much like having your first child I suppose. I know at a few moments in my life I have felt the Holy Spirit in me. And that was enough for me to know that faith is real. I don't always walk my faith correctly. Granted, I am just a young woman in my faith and make mistakes all the time- judging people and myself, feeling envious, lust, being unappreciative, allowing disappointment to turn into anger, not giving Glory to God... the list goes on and on obviously.

However, even with these mistakes, because I dedicated my life to Christ (I actually rededicated my life to Christ almost two months ago!!!) How this came about was when I, to the bones, made the committed decision that I wanted my faith to be with God and myself and no one else, and that I was ready to become a woman in Christ and step forward from being just a kid.

I do understand that having a relationship with God and not having a relationship with God are two very different lives to live not only outwardly but internally. With a relationship with God, you have a wider understanding and clarity and want to run towards God and say no to sin and follow his commands, as He commands us to (2 John 1:6 and 1 John 5:3). It is something that is difficult to explain to someone who has never experienced it, but it is an elated wonder-prompting sensation that assures you that there is more than this life.

It is so incredible because God's living word really is living and has a spirit. When I am not reading in the Bible, I can feel my glow for Christ fade. I have thought about this, if it is just an illusion, like a placebo effect on me, but it's not because it is something more than just "feeling good that I did something right," althought that happens too as opposed to failure. I suppose that on this personal point it is just my opinion and my word. It is as though without scriptures being part of my life, the time in my life becomes mundane and I am being pulled away from something that I need but it is happening without me moving even one inch! Kind of like a tree that is being moved in a big pot on a windy day and though the tree isn't moving itself, someone is moving it. :D

I pray that every day I can be reminded that I do not live and will not live for real if I am not in Christ through the Word (Bible) and His spirit (Holy Spirit). Without the Resurrection, which is what we celebrate today, among other prophesies from the Old Testament/Torah, Jesus Christ would not have been the messiah. (But I do find studies from Jewish scholars interesting too! Especially when the interpretations over the Messiah as a King on Earth versus a spiritual king come into the conversation... usually during the beginning.) As the messiah, with God and the Holy Spirit, I can have a personal relationship with God. I can now enter into his presence. When Christ died, the veil was torn (Matthew 27:51 and Mark 15:38), symbolizing that us normal people can now have from row access to God. Christ says that "unless one is born again he can not see the kingdom of God," and that "God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"  (John 3:3 and John 3:16 NKJV). Also, Matthew 19:16-30 specifically talk about heaven and eternal life, as well as a lot of the Gospel with spoken words of Jesus (the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).

One thing about living out faith that has pushed me to look more into my faith is that it is in grace that you discover a zeal to please God by following his direction in the Bible. Even when I want to be lazy and just do what will provide me with a temporary or worldly fulfillment, my urge to want to please God (like a healthy parent-child relationship based on love where you want to please your mom just so she is happy in herself and shows her appreciation through loving and nurturing you) pushes through. It isn't a guilt like when I lose respect for those I love or when I want to disobey my parents or those I care about for selfish, hedonistic reasons. It is a more profound disappointment. I am not the best at explaining myself with words, especially in conversations, but this post was cathartic for me and helped me "verbalize" my thoughts and emotions of today.

And so, today on Easter we take a Sunday to remember Jesus Christ's resurrection! With this, we celebrate together that He is the Messiah and has opened heaven and God to us, with God and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ's existence means eternal life with God is an option, if we choose it and live it for real.

It's a radical truth. It's my truth and your truth if you choose to believe. I pray that you do - it's a crazy world out there, but what is even more crazy is that living in infinite perfection without a death is a real thing too. I'm praying for you daily! Thanks for reading if you made it this far ;) and HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY!!!

I challenge you to think about God's ubiquity through humans and the way nature interacts today (literally... go outside or be with people). If you don't believe in God, I challenge you to make a conversational prayer to Him and look into His existence for yourself. :) God is like no other!

Feeling Very Loved Today + A Big Hug For You,

Christine

P.S. Something cool about my name... derived from French it means, "follower of Christ", but derived from "Greek or Egyptian origin. It is derived from the word Christ, derives from the Koine Greek word Christós, ultimately derived from the Egyptian kheru, 'word' or 'voice', used to replace the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach, 'anointed'" (Wikipedia 2016). So cool! And yes, I got this last bit of info from Wiki. lol.

Facebook :: Twitter :: Instagram :: Youtube