Halleluiah!  

When I think of Easter, I think of baskets, eggs, and bunnies. 

I also think about a perfect person who was both fully God and fully man.  A man who went through over thirty years of life on this earth.  A man who never sinned, just so He could take the punishment for my sin on a cross – a very painful death.  

But He didn’t stay dead.

The angels told the women who had come prepare Jesus’ body in the tomb, “He is not here, for he has risen as she said.  Come, see the place where he lay,” (Matthew 28:7, ESV).

Sin brings death.  Jesus brought life.  He blew the chains off sin and death when He rose again.  He didn’t stay in that grave; He slammed the door wide open. 

With Jesus’ death and resurrection, we receive freedom.

Freedom from slavery to sin.

Freedom from eternal punishment to sin.

Freedom to celebrate what we call Easter.

This year, sure, go ahead and fill the eggs with candy and hide them.  Plant jellybeans with your kids and swap them out for suckers once they’re asleep.

But I also encourage you to go deeper.  Take time to pray and ask God to expose your sins.  Then, thank God that He has already forgiven you for them.  

This Easter, celebrate God’s power.  Celebrate your freedom by praising God for what He’s done.