Easter 2007

Another Easter season is over in the church and the crown of thorns has been carefully packed away until next year. I find Easter incredibly moving and a wonderful reminder of the love that God has for us but I am often left wondering whether we fully grasp what we are to do about it! Christians across the world commemorate Jesus’ death on the cross and celebrate the fact that he died to set us free and to enable us to get to heaven, to live for eternity with God. But is there more that we are to do today?

In Hebrews 9 we have something of an answer; the writer describes all that Jesus represented as the high priest and the sacrifice that he was and is for us but then we are issued with a challenge. Christ did all that he did, including the cleansing of our consciences from acts that lead to death, SO THAT WE MAY SERVE THE LIVING GOD.

Being a Christian is more than a simple acceptance of all that Jesus has done and why. Being a Christian demands much more than an acknowledgement of the deity (or god-ness) of Jesus and being a Christian is much more than keeping a set of rules or learning a few well chosen sentences. Being a Christian is a declaration of desire to SERVE God. Going to church is not the primary thing God wants us to do (although it helps). Being kind to others is not the primary activity of a Christian (although that too is important). The primary role of every Christian, every day in every way is to SERVE the living God.

How are you serving God today? Particularly if you have expressed faith in him and love for him, how are you demonstrating that love? It should be by serving him. Of course that might include kindness to others or one of a million other acts of charity and love, but whatever it is, we must ensure that our primary motivation is not money, not encouragement from others, not an OBE or some other prize, but the satisfaction of knowing that we are simply, humbly and consciously serving the living God.

Post Easter, how are you doing? Let us all re-commit ourselves, in the light of all that Christ achieved for us on that cross, to serving God in everything we do. And may God richly bless you in your efforts to serve him.

With love,
Peter