“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13 (NIV)
So I know it’s not Easter quite yet, but having been creating a lot of Easter designs recently it has been on my mind. I have been trying to figure out what the core of the Easter story is; what we are really supposed to be celebrating. Two points have come to my mind, and I want to focus on them in a two part blog over this and next week. The first point is love.
The Easter story is one of great love. Love so great, that it has never been matched before, or after, that first Easter day. The kind of love which drove a man to pay for crimes he didn’t commit, with his own life. This love was so great, that the crimes paid for were not only committed by his friends, but also by his enemies. The Bible tells us in Romans 5:7 that “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.” Yet this man – Jesus Christ – died for all of us, the good and the bad. For those who love Him, and those who hate Him.
The words of an old, familiar children’s chorus come to mind:
Jesus loves me, this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little one to Him belong.
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves me. And Jesus loves you. And Jesus loves the strange woman at the supermarket. And Jesus loves the unfair boss at work. And Jesus loves the irritating teenager in your neighbourhood. Jesus loves us all, and he demonstrated this love on the first Easter day.
So this Easter, remember His love. And maybe you can share the story of a man who died for sinners, with someone who needs to hear it.
Click to see this and more Christian Easter cards and gifts.
