How Easter Impacts Our Everyday Life

I honestly cannot believe Easter is only a few weeks away. After a long winter filled with even longer days, the fact that it is now April seems like an April Fool’s joke in itself.

With our daughter at an age where we can start to scratch the surface of the glorious truths of the gospel, there are a couple of big points I want to teach her when it comes to Easter.

First and foremost, it’s not just a day where she gets to wear her new blue butterfly dress. I get it. It is a big deal. But no matter how pretty the dress is or how well it twirls, it is simply not the main event of the day.

Once we’re able to establish that truth, my next hope is to begin to teach her something I’m still trying to learn myself - that the joy and hope of Easter are not reserved for that day alone, but are the foundations for the immeasurable grace that sustains us every day of our lives.

The celebration of Easter Sunday centers on the glorious truth that our God kept his promise, provided salvation for those who believed, and defeated death once and for all. In it, we rejoice at the hope we have in our resurrected Savior who took on the wrath of God due to us and paid for the debt of our sin. Our Savior has come, he has rescued us from an eternity apart from God, and has claimed victory over the grave.

I mean, talk about a reason to celebrate!

So how do we take this celebration into our everyday lives? How does Easter help me when my hormones rage? Where is Easter when my toddler is throwing a tantrum? When does Easter come into play when my son’s digestive system alerts us to more food allergies we have to manage?

Friend, I promise you, the Easter celebration is one we can cling to every single moment. Let’s take just a moment to look at Peter’s explanation of what the resurrection of Christ means to us:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9

I’ve, unashamedly, referenced this passage a few times recently. The more I read it, the more riches I find. Peter points us to the great mercy of God that has given us new life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This new life is a miracle in the truest sense of the word. We were dead in our sins, unable to save ourselves, and rightly destined to an eternity without God. But God stepped in and did something only he could do for a people he loved despite their rebellion. He sent his Son, both God, and man, to live the life we could never live, become the sacrifice our sins demanded, and die the death we deserved.

God could have stopped there, but he didn’t. Peter goes on to explain that with this gift of salvation comes a living hope and an inheritance that we are promised to receive when we cross heaven’s shore. Because this hope is rooted in the unshakable glory of our Savior’s resurrection, we can rejoice when trials come. This joy comes because we see that our soul’s deepest need has been met and we know that God works everything together for the good of those who love him. We can trust that trials will refine our faith, draw us closer to God, and prepare us for an eternity with him.

But let’s bring it even closer to home. When my hormones rage (as they often do), I can fight to reflect Jesus even though my feelings tempt me to do otherwise. I can enter this fight, because he has already won my soul and the Holy Spirit dwells within me, using each and every moment to produce the fruit that brings God glory.

When my 3-year-old is in need of discipline, I can point her back to Jesus, showing her the grace our God has met us with and the obedience he has called us to. I can discipline in love, living out the gospel that has saved my own rebellious soul.

When my son is struggling with food allergies and I am overwhelmed with every agonizing moment of decisions and tests and fruitless trial and error work, I can find rest in the Easter hope I have. I can rejoice, knowing that God has not forsaken us and is with us in every moment. I can trust that he is my ultimate source of wisdom and power because I see them perfectly displayed in his act of salvation for his people.

Though the amazing message we celebrate on Easter is everything we need in life, it is so easy to forget. It is so easy to forget about the living hope we’ve been given that is unshakeable no matter the storms we face.. It is so easy to be distracted by life’s demands and the events that tempt us to worry and fear. It is so easy to be overwhelmed by our season of life and get tunnel vision set on the trial right in front of us.

So in order to help us never truly forget, we have a specific day every year to remind us of the glorious gospel that sustains us. We join together with our church family and celebrate the work of our Savior. We rejoice as one and bask in the grace we’ve been undeservedly given. This holiday has a purpose - to draw our focus back onto the very event that defines our entire faith.

As we approach Easter this year, prepare your heart and mind for the celebration to come. Train your thoughts to dwell on the hope and joy held in this incredible gift. Let the excitement and anticipation grow as the day draws nearer where we can all worship as one church. And cling to the unshakable hope, inexpressible joy, and incomprehensible peace that is proclaimed from the empty tomb every day God has given you on this earth.