Today is Easter! Each year we take time to remember the events of Good Friday and Easter to remind us that God sent Jesus to die for our sins but that death is not the end and that through the Resurrection we’re promised eternal life if we believe.
The day known as the Resurrection, the stories tell us, and the days following to the day known as the Ascension were days when Jesus appeared to many different people proving his Resurrected status. Many believed simply because others had told them it was true, but some, like Thomas, had to see for themselves. Having faith or belief in things is important, but in this case we do have to see God for ourselves, we can’t have faith on behalf of anyone else, we have to each believe and commit to Jesus by ourselves.
The journey continues this way: we need the support and encouraging stories of other believers, but we also have to have our own experiences with God. We need to make time each day to personally connect with God, as well as take time each week to connect with and support other believers. Some who saw Jesus after His resurrection were with others, yet some were alone. Jesus knows that some things in life need to be done alone, and others are better when we’re together with others.
But Jesus’ Ascension wasn’t an end, but rather his Resurrection and Ascension were a beginning. As much as it’s our “job” to tell people about Jesus, it’s even more important that we keep the conversation going long after the initial conversation and/or conversion. Jesus came to earth to complete one chapter in life and begin another. His return to Heaven wasn’t because His time was a failure or the work was done. He returned to heaven because He had done His part and now it was our turns to do the work and continue writing the story.
Easter is the beginning of a new story of hope, a new way that God wants to connect with us, new hope and potential for each person. But it’s only the beginning, and it’s up to each of us to continue the story. It may seem dull to you between the holidays of Easter and Christmas, the 7 odd months that we have to wait between “the good stuff,” 7 months that don’t always seem to matter. But the truth is that this is a lot like our lives. We’ve got high points and quiet days. Busy weeks and slow seasons. Times when things fall into place and others when they fall apart. We may remember the high and low points most, but often it is the times in between that matter most.
I encourage you to see today and each day as a new opportunity for Jesus to show you something important, even if it’s as simple as a basket full of plastic eggs, rainbow after a rain storm or bagel from a coworker, and a new day for you to live out God’s purpose for your life and celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead for you and me.