Easter is often thought of as a time for looking backwards. Millions of folks will head to church on Sunday to remember and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus nearly two thousand years ago. Yet a fair amount of these folks who go to church to celebrate will leave church without capturing the vision of Easter. Sure, they’ll be glad that Jesus was resurrected, that Life conquered death, and that He is now reigning with God. But they still won’t see resurrection in their own lives, and they’ll wonder how God’s work so long ago connects with life today.
One of the tensions of the Christian faith is that we live in the time in-between. Christ was resurrected, yet His reign has not been fully established on this earth. If we only see Easter as a special moment in history then we miss the really good news of it all. God’s people must have double vision; we must keep one eye on what God has done in the past and the other eye on God’s promise for the future. Christ’s resurrection was not an isolated incident, but rather the start of something much greater on the horizon. Easter is worth celebrating because on Easter God’s ultimate future victory was won!
In Revelation 5:6-13, John (author of Revelation) has a vision of the crucified and resurrected Messiah, Jesus. In John’s vision he sees Jesus not only raised from the dead but ruling over all creation. It is a vision of heavenly worship. In the vision John sees that Jesus’ rule, established by His resurrection, is coming to earth. In the end all power, honor, glory, might, and blessing will be His, and His Kingdom will reign on earth. The Lamb who was Slain will come into His Kingdom by virtue of His great victory on Easter. John’s vision is our future, and it is the future of all creation!
Easter requires us to look both backwards and forwards. We look back to remember God’s amazing display of faithfulness, love and justice in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. We look forward to see that because Jesus was resurrected His victory is assured, and our world will one day be filled with His glory. And that’s worth celebrating! Easter means victory over the sin and death in our lives and in our community. If we are following Jesus then He has made a way for us into that glorious future, and the resurrection is already taking hold in our own lives. This Easter let’s get double vision! Let’s not only commemorate what Jesus did for us in the past, but remember what Jesus has in store for us in the future! Our celebration is, after all, just the start of something much, much bigger!
One of the tensions of the Christian faith is that we live in the time in-between. Christ was resurrected, yet His reign has not been fully established on this earth. If we only see Easter as a special moment in history then we miss the really good news of it all. God’s people must have double vision; we must keep one eye on what God has done in the past and the other eye on God’s promise for the future. Christ’s resurrection was not an isolated incident, but rather the start of something much greater on the horizon. Easter is worth celebrating because on Easter God’s ultimate future victory was won!
In Revelation 5:6-13, John (author of Revelation) has a vision of the crucified and resurrected Messiah, Jesus. In John’s vision he sees Jesus not only raised from the dead but ruling over all creation. It is a vision of heavenly worship. In the vision John sees that Jesus’ rule, established by His resurrection, is coming to earth. In the end all power, honor, glory, might, and blessing will be His, and His Kingdom will reign on earth. The Lamb who was Slain will come into His Kingdom by virtue of His great victory on Easter. John’s vision is our future, and it is the future of all creation!
Easter requires us to look both backwards and forwards. We look back to remember God’s amazing display of faithfulness, love and justice in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. We look forward to see that because Jesus was resurrected His victory is assured, and our world will one day be filled with His glory. And that’s worth celebrating! Easter means victory over the sin and death in our lives and in our community. If we are following Jesus then He has made a way for us into that glorious future, and the resurrection is already taking hold in our own lives. This Easter let’s get double vision! Let’s not only commemorate what Jesus did for us in the past, but remember what Jesus has in store for us in the future! Our celebration is, after all, just the start of something much, much bigger!