It is hard to believe the spring season is here, March Madness is winding down, and Easter was this past Sunday. It seems like just last week we were celebrating Christmas. But time marches on and so do we. <!–split–>

The Easter celebration is a big part of the Christian’s life. Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, we would not be the recipients of such wonderful gifts known as salvation and eternal life. For it is only through the resurrection that we experience new life: a new life in Christ.

We know the entire Easter story, but imagine if you had been one of the disciples living the story. Would you have reacted as the disciples did? Would you have believed Jesus if he proclaimed that he was about to be handed over to the officials, die, and come back in 3 days? They didn’t quite understand, and I would venture a guess that if any of us were in the same position, we would act the same way.

We live today as Easter people, living in the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. He is a living and loving Lord. We experience the evil forces trying to destroy our faith, trying to rid the world of Christianity, trying to denounce the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In John’s gospel we read that Jesus is the true light coming into the world shining in the darkness. But people have tried to extinguish the light of Christ through hatred and fear, material stuff, manipulation, betrayal, rejection, seeking someone other than Jesus.

As we studied in our Lenten study on the Lord’s prayer, we live in a world created by God, living by God’s principles, receiving the food we need for our physical bodies as well as our spiritual bodies, seeking God’s forgiveness for past sins and protection from future evils. And we give him praise for all this.

In essence, we are not extinguishing the light but keeping it shining. Let us go into the world letting Jesus’ light shine in our life to light the way for someone else.

See you Sunday, if not before –   Pastor Tim