It probably goes without saying that today is a different kind of Easter.
My whole life I’ve gone to Easter services, experienced the increased production, the increased attendance, and the family gatherings after. As a worship leader I’ve planned and led Easter sets, feeling the weight of guiding believers to the reality of God’s sacrifice and love on this special day.
But when things change, when our rhythms are different, sometimes those differences help us see life differently. When we don’t have the opportunity to get swept up into the busyness of Easter, maybe God could show us something different about Easter today.
As I still my mind, my body, my soul for a moment today, one idea rises to the surface.
On the cross Jesus proclaimed these words that echo forth even to this day. With his last breath he cried out:
“It is finished.” - John 19:30
The gospel we’ve been invited into is one of rest, one of grace. It’s a gospel where God time after time does what we cannot. It’s a gospel where work is put in its proper context, a fruit of abiding, an act of love. Salvation is a gift. Resurrection is a gift. Each breath, this breath, is a gift.
And yet, we work as if our very life depended on it. We earn and strive to find value, meaning, and worth. We seek to prove ourselves when God tells us that we are worth the death of his very own son.
On this Easter, might God want to invite us to finally say “yes” to a different kind of gospel, the true gospel, a gospel where the words of Jesus saying “it is finished” speak grace and rest over every facet of our lives.
So for just a few moments, let us quiet our minds, quiet our bodies, quiet our souls. Let’s listen for the still, small voice of God declaring his goodness on this powerful day of remembrance. And let’s find the courage, even for a moment, to lay down our striving, allow God to be God, and find the deeper rest of full relationship.
God, my God.
On the day where Jesus was forsaken,
On the day when Jesus took on our sins, my sins,
On the day where Jesus rose again,
You made a way to rest.
But as I still myself,
I realize just how restless I am.
Something is missing, some connection broken,
Between your gospel and mine.
You said it is finished,
But I never feel done.
You say I am worthy,
But I feel so unproven.
You say I am loved without condition,
But I feel desperate to earn affection.
So my Father,
Put together the broken pieces of my faith.
Guide me to the still waters,
To the green pastures,
To rest.
On this day, this Easter,
Help me to experience what was true before,
And will be true after,
That I have been, am, and will be yours,
That nothing, death, nor life, nor angels, nor demons,
Can pluck me from your hand of love.
And may your reality, your gospel, your love,
Bring me to a relationship more pure, more free, more content
Than what I’ve known up till now.
May the rhythms of your grace carry me deeper into you,
Both now and forever,
Until every facet of my life declares the finished work of Christ.
For your glory.
For my good.
Amen.
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