Easter Sunday

Lent – Lent is a long process. We don’t generally observe it the way it was intended to be observed. It is not one of those joyful times on the church calendar. Lent is a time we think about our sinfulness. We think about the price that had to be paid for us to enjoy the benefits of the family of God. We purpose in our heart to repent from our Sin and try to lead a life more glorifying to God, just like we did the year before.


There are few of us who like to concentrate on our failures and shortcomings. It is much more appealing to think about our successes and achievements. Bringing to mind one more time the ways we have failed as a spouse, a parent, a child, a disciple of Christ. . . Please, we feel bad enough already.

However, the purpose is not to keep us in that dark place. The purpose of Lent is to arrive at Easter with a greater appreciation and knowledge of the depth of God’s love for us. “For God so loved the world. . .” That was written for you, not just for the masses, not just for the whole world, for you.

Hot summer days are just around the corner. You will be out in the yard mowing the grass, weeding the flower beds, edging the sidewalk or driveway. You’ll try to get it done in the morning, but sometimes, the work will stretch into the hot part of the afternoon. The sweat will make the grass and dirt stick to you. You’ll wipe the sweat from your forehead only to find you now have a big dirty smudge left behind.

Finally you finish and head inside. The shower feels so good! Being clean once again is almost the best part of the day. You didn’t realize how dirty you had gotten out there in the heat and the grass and the soil.

It’s the same way with our lives. We never realized how unclean we had become. We compared ourselves today the worst of the world and our community. God has always called us to be like himself. We are made in his image. We should be like him. We simply settle for be more like him than others around us. We never really expected to be JUST like him in every way.

It is only when we compare ourselves to our Creator that we realize how far into the darkness we have wandered, how much the uncleanness has become a part of us, and how badly we need the righteousness and cleansing power of Jesus Christ. Easter is the reminder of that end of the day shower that has cleansed us from everything and allowed us to be fit to stand in the presence of our Creator, Savior, and King.

Pastor Craig