We celebrate Easter each spring, and I have learned to love hearing people share the greeting, "Happy Resurrection Day!" What powerful meaning in those few words.
Easter Sunday is all about the resurrection of Jesus from the grave, overcoming death and taking his place in Heaven to make a place for those of us who believe and profess his death as payment for our sins and his subsequent resurrection as proof that he was no ordinary earthly man -- that death will not win.
Along with that amazing part of the story, Resurrection Day means a new start. Christ, now residing in Heaven, preparing a place ... but also that the veil, keeping humans from intimate communion with God the Father, tore, opening the way directly to God. Those who believe in the fullness of what Christ's death means know they have direct access to God, in Christ's name. He opened the way for us -- the way to God and the way to eternal life.
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? ~~ John 11:25-26
As you look forward to Resurrection Day on Sunday, does renewed marriage enter your mind? Easter Sunday reminds us of a new start. Bulbs containing hyacinths, crocus, daffodils and lilies burst into bloom. Trees begin to bud. And as for the Lord? A new way to interact with God -- no more intermediaries, no intercessors but for Christ. No human needs to offer sacrifices and visibly sanctify himself to enter the Holy of Holies after that glorious day. God gave us direct access that day, trading the veil in the temple for the blood of Christ. The veil represented a sanctioned area, not available to us. Through Christ's blood we receive forgiveness, and can talk with God as we request forgiveness for our sins.
But marriage?
Yes. Would not Resurrection Day -- the day of Christ rising from the dead -- make a good new beginning for marriages that lie in a state of lifelessness? Cannot the God who raised Christ from the dead raise a marriage from the depths to which it has fallen? Cannot a God who sees us as his beloved children bring us to a place of peace and grace toward a mate who has forgotten his vows or has betrayed trust, so that we may offer that same grace? Can we take the forgiveness offered us through the death and rising of Christ, no matter what our wrongs, and move to a better place as a wife? Can we take that forgiveness and pass it on?
As you prepare your home and family for this Easter celebration, prepare your heart for a renewal. If you are one whose marriage has run off course or has hit a rocky place, or even if it has run aground and you see no way to repair it ... take hold of the truth of Resurrection Day. Believe that death has lost its sting ... Christ overcame the grave to show us the path to forgiveness, new life in Him, and eternal life with God. If physical death can lose its power over us through Christ, a lifeless marriage can certainly find new life through Him.
Call on Him. Pray to the One who allows you direct access, no more hiding behind a veil -- it doesn't exist anymore. Christ died for you, for your husband, for your family -- for everyone on Earth. We need only accept that priceless gift and make the most of it.
A resurrected marriage may not happen within three days, but it can happen. Invite God into it with you, and every day, remind yourself to meet with Him. He will show you the way. Through Christ's sacrifice on the cross you may follow without fear. He did it for you.
Not a "believer", a Christian, a follower of Christ? If God has touched your heart and you have felt the little stirrings of His presence in your life, I hope that you will take the opportunity to ask His Son into your heart right now.
If you would like to pray the prayer below, or one of your own, you will have done all that is necessary to accept the Holy Spirit's guidance in your life. It doesn't end there -- you will want to keep learning and growing in your faith, and better understanding not only what Christ's work on the cross really means, but also more about how to follow him as you go through this life.
Dear Lord God,
I am a sinner, and I ask your forgiveness for the wrong I have thought, said and done in my life. I believe in Jesus Christ as your only Son, born as a man and crucified, dying to pay for all our sins, and that he rose from the dead by your power. I ask for Jesus to enter my heart and to guide me through this life on the right path. Thank you for this gift of forgiveness and eternal life, through Christ, that only You can give.
In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.
Please get yourself a Bible, if you don't have one, or download an on-line version or a SmartPhone application (Bible Gateway). Finding a Bible-based church (one that teaches directly from the Bible, using verses from it as basis for sermons/messages) or a Bible Study group that you can attend where you live will help you learn and grow in your faith. Taking time to learn and speak with other believers will make your walk in faith more fulfilling and give you a place to go with questions.
May God bless you in this new beginning -- the most important step you can take in life.
Amy
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