Easter is the ultimate celebration for a God who deserves the highest of celebration. The Gospel message invites everyone into this grand event, for every time we share the Gospel, it changes hearts and saves lives.
The Gospel is so impactful because it brings resurrection life. Jesus’ mission is aimed towards resurrection. He had to go through the cross, but the goal was never death on the cross; the goal was resurrection’s victory over death and sin. Through this, we gain eternal life. When we believe in Jesus, even though we die, we will live. That’s His remarkable promise to us: resurrection. Accepting the sacrifice of the cross leads us into this resurrection life. The cross is the symbol of death, but when Jesus spoke ‘it is finished’ the reign of sin and death was finished as well. We are living post-resurrection.
Before the cross and Resurrection was darkness, confusion, brokenness, unforgiveness, religion, and bondage. But resurrection offers us real and true life; life powerful, and vibrant. When you receive Jesus as Lord, this new life becomes a way of life. It is in you, on you, around you; you can’t help but know the difference between old life and new life. We are designed for the resurrected life of freedom, and in this way to be who we truly are. We then live and move in the rhythms of His original plan for us.
Before was death. Now is resurrection life.
Before the cross, we were caught in a cycle of mistake upon mistake with no way out. But on the resurrection side, there’s a process of restoration with God working on us from the inside out. As He pours His love on us, healing also covers us. Until we invite God to walk alongside us, our life is broken and unfulfilled, but God releases us into freedom and joy.
And above all else, before the cross, we are far from God. He’s merely a religion, or an afterthought. But after the cross? He’s real. We know Him; there’s a holy intimacy between Him and us.
Paul, the apostle, calls resurrection life a “newness of life.” Jesus told us He came and died and rose so we might have life, and life abundant. It’s a God kind of life and a God-filled life; it’s a new life that is different and powerful because of the cross.