Of the two major Christian holidays, Christmas gets all the glory and Easter is somewhat of a side note. Very truly I tell you that Christmas would be just another cold day in winter if not for Easter, if not for Christ's crucifixion and resurrection! It's not quite as commercialized and therefore is viewed as almost an inferior holiday.
Another problem is that many people, many Christians, only celebrate God on those two days, Christmas and Easter. Why? May we celebrate Christ all days of our life! He was brutally beaten, tortured, and murdered. The fact that he descended from His throne in Heaven and humbled Himself to take on our form is amazing in its self. Then the God of the universe, creator of the cosmos, allowed His children to beat and humiliate Him. He came to save the lost. He came to save the very sinful beings that were killing Him. That is incredible! If that doesn't take your breath away, I don't know what will! The only natural response to that is to humbly serve and glorify God with our lives! We are made anew each and every day. We depend on God for forgiveness each and every day. We are not able to achieve such a thing on our own but through Christ alone.
"For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." ~Romans 3:23
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." ~2 Corinthians 5:21
Yes Christ was beaten and killed, but what is often over looked is that He took on the sins of the world. This man who knew no sin, was cast apart from the Father as WE nailed Him to the cross, as OUR sins were cast onto His shoulders. We are just as responsible for His crucifixion as Pilate and the pharisees.
Jesus did all of this for us, for His children, knowing that most of us will deny Him. Most of us will turn our backs on Him. Even His closest friends turned on Him, but may we remain strong in Him. May we proclaim His hallowed name to the world! Praise the Lord! He has conquered death!
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting" ~1 Corinthians 15:55
