Easter Hope
by Clinicians at Ganey Counseling on 04/03/15
“For we believe that jesus died and rose again,
and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who
have fallen asleep in Him…
and so we will be with the
Lord forever.”
Paraphrased, 1 Thess. 4: 14,&
17
Easter is here. Kids are
looking forward to the Easter Bunny and parents are working hard to prepare for meals and traditions with family and friends. Although Easter
is a joyous holiday it is preceded by a more solemn day, Good Friday. Perhaps beneath the joy of the holiday
your heart is feeling solemn as well. I know many people and have heard of
others who are grieving at this time. Even for those who are not mourning a
recent loss, the holidays always seem to bring back thoughts of family members or
friends that we are separated from by death, distance, or perhaps even significant
disagreements.
Good Friday, 2,000+ years ago,
Jesus’ friends were mourning too. Their friend, teacher, and LORD had died and
they did not have any hope of seeing Him again. Imagine the surprise and joy
they experienced when his grave was found empty and he returned to them. (Seriously,
try to imagine it!) They probably didn’t comprehend the fullness of what his
resurrection meant for them, but I imagine they were overjoyed to see His face
and touch his nail-pierced hands. Jesus returned because he had conquered sin
and he therefore had conquered death. He tells us that if we believe this and
believe that he can conquer sin for us, then we can live eternally with Him. We no longer need to fear death or the
frailty of our bodies. We can have hope that sin, brokenness, and disagreements
will not separate us forever.
As a colleague recently
reminded me, these bodies we walk around in are merely the shell that encases
our soul. Who we are and what we have come to know and love about those we have
lost will live on, eternally. The pain, brokenness, and burdens our bodies
carry on this Earth will not pass on with us to our Heavenly home.
We Can Have Hope
Through
Christ’s resurrection we have the assurance that we will live eternally;
through Christ’s resurrection we can be reconnected to those who have died
before us. Through Christ’s resurrection we can be encouraged to reconcile broken
relationships; through Christ’s resurrection we can have hope for newness,
redemption, and peace
even
as we live out the rest of our days on this Earth.
Submitted by Sarah E. Loew, MS
