Easter Forever

I tell myself that if I lived in a different country, I would be gladly Catholic or at least maybe a member of a more orthodox Christian sect and yeah, my reasons are actually rather basic. For Christian holiday moments like this, I covet how orthodox and traditional Christian sects are intentional in bringing to remembrance the events of Jesus’ birth, sufferings, death and resurrection. I am big fan of the a few Orthodox Christian traditions like:

· The Apostles’ Creed

· Lent

· Easter

If you’ve ever read the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty…and in Jesus Christ…” you’ll know that it contains basic tenets of the Christian faith. The open recitation of the core of our faith strengthens our conviction and our consciousness. This is not meant to be (just) for Roman Catholics. It’s meant to be a staple confession for every believer. It truly is the best confession ever!

And of course, Lent — this is the re-enactment of the entire process leading up to that moment that changed heaven and earth irrevocably, forever. I mean, Christian holidays are great and somehow that’s what they are becoming now — holidays. But I have had cause to think about Easter in a different way lately.

Easter is practically the bedrock of the Christian faith. This is not a comparison between which one is more important — Christmas or Easter.

Easter is the time and place where everything Jesus said He came for was accomplished. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It’s only human to forget and there is a need for constant reminders. As the English would say “repetition is for emphasis”, these Christian holidays and traditions exist to remind us and bring to our awareness the priceless and important moments of our history, when heaven invaded earth and caused a change forever.

Isaiah 53 is the perfect Easter scripture as it tells us in summary but enough metaphorical detail what our lives are now, in the aftermath of the Great Sacrifice.

Isaiah 53:4

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:5

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed.

If we were to truly reflect on the depth of meaning in Easter, I believe it would make us all a lot more conscious of the essence of Christianity. There is a consciousness we need to hold and carry with us, let’s call it a forever Easter consciousness — That Jesus Christ came, truly, and He died, truly, for us.

That becoming a Christian — accepting that what Christ did for you — is more than abandonment of your bad behaviours. That it is coming into a light so bright and a life so vital that nothing can ever shake it. That God truly loves the world and His sensibilities are not fragile and He is not offended by the things He sees and knows about us (and yes, he sees and knows all things about us). That Jesus Christ has made us new. Oh, this! It can never truly be explained in the mind and I pray that the Holy Ghost will breathe upon you the revelation that Easter — the ‘reenactment’ of the sacrifice of Jesus — was you being made new.

As the popular song says, “…no power of hell and no scheme of man could ever pluck you from His hand!”

Easter isn’t just another holiday. It’s a holy set of days filled with meaning, brimming with significance and rife with depth. Easter is the reason why we have hope in this world. Easter is the reason we can believe…for anything. Easter is the reason we know that He is coming again.

Like I said earlier, Easter isn’t just a holiday. It is the bedrock of our identity in God. When you celebrate this year, take the consciousness of Easter with you into the rest of the year and see how everything changes.

Happy Easter!

Written by Ele Mohmoh

Ele is a copywriter in Lagos. She enjoys the smell of rain, silence, and old school stuff.