Easter is not about you! The biggest mistake you can make this Easter period is to make it about you, either by making the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus Christ about you and your wellbeing in life or by simply thinking about the long weekend ahead and missing the opportunity to reflect on the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God in working out our salvation through Christ. So how can we make the most of the Passion Week? Let me suggest two ways.
Praise God for your salvation
How often do you reflect on your salvation? How often do you meditate on the gospel? We neglect these truths at our own peril. The moment we take our salvation for granted and deceive ourselves into thinking the gospel is only for the unsaved, we fall into the trap of thinking we are good people who deserve to be saved. What this Passion Week provides us is the opportunity to reflect on the great work that God has done which should lead us in total praise. We should stand amazed at the richness of God’s mercy and greatness of grace towards us. Marshall Segal reminds us what salvation is all about when he says, “Christ was betrayed for the glory of God, because in being betrayed God was able to adopt sinful us as precious sons and daughters ‘to the praise of his glorious grace’ (Ephesians 1:5–6). Christ was crucified for the glory of God, because in being crucified he was able to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). Christ was raised for the glory of God, because in being raised God made us alive with him (Ephesians 2:5), and shows the world ‘the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us’ (Ephesians 2:7).”[1] Make the most of Easter by giving thanks to God for your salvation.
Proclaim the death of Christ to the lost
This Easter holiday is not simply a long weekend to meet up with friends and party. We miss the point if we simply use it to sleep in and catch up on unfinished tasks. We miss an opportunity to proclaim Christ and Him crucified if all we do is go on family vacations and enjoy ourselves. While there is nothing wrong with any of the things I have listed, in fact they are good and to be encouraged, we would be amiss if we did not seize the opportunity to make Jesus known at the time when everyone is directly or indirectly thinking about His death, burial and resurrection. So while you go out for a party, enjoy a family vacation, or sort out your honey to do list, seek for ways to make Christ known to those who do not know him.
Easter is not about or me. It is not primarily about our happiness. Easter is about the glory and praise of the triune God in the great work of salvation. So let’s praise Him for our salvation and proclaim Him to the lost.
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