When I was growing up, Easter Sunday was a fun day. After church, we had an Easter egg hunt with hard-boiled, dyed eggs (indoors since I grew up in the north). A basket filled with sweets awaited us, courtesy of the Easter Bunny. My sister, who is three years older than me, would sample this and that from her basket. Being a little sister who wanted to do whatever her big sister did, I tried to keep up with her. But I usually had to quit because I wound up feeling sick with all the candy.

Nowadays, Easter looks different. We don’t have an egg hunt at my house, because we don’t have any little ones. And I rarely get much, if any, Easter candy. But the most important difference is my focus. When I was younger I knew what Easter was about. But now that I am an adult, I have more of an appreciation for the true meaning of Easter. I don’t put my attention on what the Easter Bunny will bring me this year. Instead, the emphasis is on what Jesus brought for all of us over 2,000 years ago.

Last Easter we were all in the throes of the pandemic, so my husband and I watched church on television and then we watched The Passion of the Christ. This movie is such a genuine depiction of what Jesus went through. It can be difficult to sit through this movie without tears, or at least a deep sense of mourning for what our Lord and Savior had to suffer for each of us.

Even reading about Jesus’ death in the Bible will bring remorse. But when we keep reading past the pain that Jesus faced on Good Friday, we find the joy of Easter morning. With Jesus’ death and resurrection, He paid the price for our sins and He bridged the gap between our Heavenly Father and us. We can never repay Jesus for what He did. But we can use our time to worship the Lord, to remember what Easter is all about, and to give Jesus our gratitude. Let’s take a moment to do that now. Let’s thank Jesus for what He did for us on the cross. Will you pray this Easter prayer with me?

Dear Jesus, how can we begin to thank You for what You did over 2,000 years ago? The words “Thank You” will never be enough. In fact, no words could ever fully express our heartfelt gratitude. We are deeply humbled to think about what You did for us and for all who would accept You. You, who knew no sin, took on the sin of the world. You knew each and every one of us would stumble and fall. But You still loved us all so much that you went to the cross for us. You paid our sin debt that we could never pay on our own. And as a result, you washed us clean. You made us as white as snow. You redeemed us from our sins. You saved us from death. You gave us the gift of salvation. You gave us the opportunity to have a relationship with You. And this relationship is more precious that anything we will ever know on this earth. Nothing compares to the price you paid for us. But today and everyday, we give You our hearts. We surrender all to You. We honor You. We worship You. We love You. You are our Redeemer, Provider, and Shepherd. We praise Your Holy Name. May our lips praise Your name every day of our lives. In Your Holy Name we pray, amen.

If you have never accepted Jesus as Savior, I invite you to do so today. If you want to know how, you can say the prayer found here. This will be the best decision you ever make. This will bring true contentment into your life. And this will bring you hope. In these uncertain times, we all could use hope. And the only way to find true hope is through Jesus.

I pray you all have a blessed Easter!

© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas