“Thank you God for Red Letters”  (Crowder, 2018)

When I was young I remember asking why we celebrate Easter.  I was told that Easter was the day that Jesus died on the cross.  I was young so even though I was skeptical, I didn’t understand why we would celebrate a death, I went along with it.  It’s not that I was given false information; I was just not given all the information. 

Ending the story at Jesus’ death is like closing a book at the height of the action.  It’s like walking out of the theatre in the middle of the movie when you have been on the edge of your seat. The ending that will give you satisfaction and answer all your questions is coming soon. The best is yet to come, but still you walk away, unsatisfied and with so many questions.

If the story ended at Jesus’ death there would be nothing more to say, there would be no hope, there would be nothing but sadness. 

But the story goes on. 

On Friday, at the moment of His death Jesus said, “It is finished,” the sacrifice, the atonement, the redemption, the path to salvation. Finished! He spoke these words on Friday but they came to fruition on Sunday. 

Jesus rose from the grave, stepped out of the tomb and told Mary to tell the disciples that He is alive.   That evening Jesus met with the disciples and answered their questions and left them satisfied with these words, “Peace be with you.”  

The sadness on Friday, was replaced with joy on Sunday. 

Easter is not the celebration of death, but of life; renewal, rebirth, salvation.  

If Jesus had not risen from the dead there would be no renewal, if he had stayed in the grave there would be no rebirth, if he had not been resurrected than the cross would have no meaning and there would not be a pathway to salvation.  

But there is…..

 ….because of Easter. 

Some bibles are printed with red letters. These are the words spoken by Jesus.

Crowder, D. (2019, October). David Crowder “Red Letters” (Official Music Video). Retrieved from https://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=YYYKD7NX