Rise Again

Easter reminds Christians of spring time, ham dinners, pastel colored eggs and the two times a year going to church is obligatory. Being a Christian, since childhood I ask myself why does Easter still matter?

Jesus endured betrayal by his closest friends and followers. Jesus was spit on, beaten, mocked, humiliated; he died a criminal's death. All of this is called the passion of Christ. Christians can pause on this and reflect on all that Jesus took on his shoulders out of a passionate love for humanity. After 3 days, Jesus rose again from the grave, signifying victory over death and sin.

This year I saw Easter through different eyes, more than a commemoration of a cataclysmic event. In my every day life, if I am empowered through Jesus' death and resurrection than I too can rise again. Though, our circumstances will never come close to the brutality of the cross, we can see Jesus as a model.

In circumstances where I am betrayed, misunderstood, humiliated. I too can rise again. I can choose to believe that greater is Jesus who lives inside of me and conquered death than any circumstances I can encounter in this life.
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Too often, I face the temptation to be knocked down by life and stay down; to believe that it is all over. The inclination to avoid vulnerability and the risk of rejection. Yet, there is a victory in getting back up. When he rose from the dead, Jesus still had the scars of where nails were driven in hands. We too can have scars of what we have been through, but we still rise. We rise, knowing that we do not have a victory through violent conquest. We have a victory won through loving sacrifice. In our daily life we can be confident that God fights on our behalf and that though we suffer, we don't suffer as people without hope because love always wins.