The shops are filled with the spirit of Easter everything from cards to buns and every conceivable kind of chocolate. The holiday vibe is heavy in the air as people plan their escape for a few days. Most of us love chocolate, especially our children, and we do love to play the game of hide and seek with them. It’s a time of laughter, of over indulgence, families spending time, making memories and having fun.

For me over the years Easter has been all those things and more as I have tried to balance the holiday time with remembering Jesus sacrifice of love. He suffered crucifixion for the greatest reason on earth, saving all who would believe in his death and resurrection. For many years I have struggled to understand why God would choose such suffering for his son, even if it was to save the world.
I have listened to preachers and read books written by great men and women, and I have studied the Bible to find an answer that would give me peace. As many Easters have come and gone, I have tried new ways to bring understanding to my mind, my latest one being a series of Lenten studies about the life and death of Jesus.

I have become more earnest in my search to find answers to some of my deepest questions, but I don’t pretend to have found them all. I think we all need to do our own soul searching, but I would like to offer my thoughts for Easter 2016.

The first thought is on love. Jesus love is like no other love. It is pure, passionate, selfless. He is indeed love himself and he chose his path in the world as much as the Father did. He lived and died loving us as no one else could. In 1st Corinthians Chpt 13 verse 13 says “Now faith, Hope and Love remain, but the greatest of these is Love.”

The 2nd thought is Forgiveness. We were all born into a sin filled world and all of us have wanted to live our lives our own way. So we can hardly call ourselves totally selfless.This sin state of ours had to be given a death blow, and the only way God could deal with the seriousness of sin was to send his Son who was sinless to take our sins upon himself and die in our place, so we could be reconciled to the Father.

The 3rd thought is Joy. Whilst Jesus may appear very serious and not interested in having a good time this is not really true, when you get into the Bible you find he loved children, had them on his knee and blessed them. He spent time enjoying his friends the Disciples, and wanted the very best for us. One of the fruits of the Spirit is Joy, he definitely wants us to have plenty of that. Lastly the scripture that sticks in my mind is this one found in Hebrews Chpt 12 verse 2 says “For the joy that was before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God”

The 4th thought is Peace. I don’t know about you, but I think in the world we now live in with its pressures, its demands and the sorrows we endure suddenly out of the blue, when all we were doing was living life every day, as best we could Then there is family break down, divorce, and family alienation and the betrayal of friends, and many more issues we can think of. I know of nothing more satisfying than to know that I am loved by almighty God, and that he made peace for me, not just once but for all time through his precious Son Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth to give all who believed in him a peace that the world would never understand. For those who search for the meaning to this life, peace is a priceless gift for all of eternity, no matter what you are going through.

These are my thoughts this Easter. Can I encourage you to take some time during the holiday period to do some soul searching of your own. Don’t put it off for another Easter, have a talk to Jesus, about your hopes and dreams for the future. He wants only the best for us, he is a great listener and the greatest friend that ever lived for us all.

Be blessed this Easter, love from Carol.

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