Another Easter.
Is this our response on the Monday after Easter? Many of us participated in several Lenten season activities that concluded with the celebration of Resurrection Sunday. Now it’s time to put away the bunny baskets and hide the remainder of the candied eggs from our children (and ourselves). But there is one thing we don’t want to put away until next year. Recognition of God’s redemption.
For we believers, Resurrection Sunday is much more than the culmination of the 40-day Lenten season. It’s more than a Sunday on the calendar in the spring. Resurrection Sunday is celebrated in memory of the extraordinary price Jesus paid for not only our freedom (from sin, from death, from destruction) but also the greatest gift any person can ever receive (and Christ can only give)—eternal life. Eternal life begins on earth and culminates when we return home to be with Jesus (John 17:3).
For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, Amplified)
Just as the birth of Christ was orchestrated by God, so it was with His crucifixion and glorious resurrection (Genesis 3:15). Our understanding of God’s redemptive plan is critical knowledge that must be DAILY applied, integrated, and assimilated into our hearts, our minds, and our spirit (John 17:17-26).
The Best Plan
God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) fashioned a plan whereby “He Himself” would become human and finally resolve the problem of sin (1 Peter 2:24). But why did this plan require Jesus Christ to take on flesh and blood?
Therefore, since [these His] children share in flesh and blood [the physical nature of mankind], He Himself in a similar manner also shared in the same [physical nature, but without sin], so that through [experiencing] death He might make powerless (ineffective, impotent) him who had the power of death—that is, the devil. (Hebrews 2:14, Amplified)
Only Christ could satisfy the “righteous requirements” of the law (Romans 8:4). The Mosaic Law demanded that blood be shed, in the form of an animal sacrifice for the “forgiveness of sin” (Hebrews 9:22). This process of sacrifice was repeated continuously, generation after generation, until Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice (Hebrews 9:23-28).
Christ would be able to share in our humanity. He would be able to understand our weaknesses and temptations. As a partaker of flesh and blood, He “might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrew 2:17).
Christ’s defeat of Satan would free believers from sin’s power (Romans 6:6-7). It is in the destruction of Satan’s power that we are now able to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). We can live victoriously in and for Christ.
Our Part in the Plan.
God’s salvation does not require us to lay down our physical life for Him but God does ask us to die, spiritually, to the control which our flesh, the world and Satan exert upon us.
The Apostles gave us hints as to the best way to live in the remembrance of redemption. These are great scripture to use during your time of devotion and meditation.
Paul stated: I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20, Amplified)
Peter reaffirmed this thought in his letter to God’s scattered elect: Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh [and died for us], arm yourselves [like warriors] with the same purpose [being willing to suffer for doing what is right and pleasing God], because whoever has suffered in the flesh [being like-minded with Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [having stopped pleasing the world], so that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living for human appetites and desires, but [lives] for the will and purpose of God. (1 Peter 4: 1-2).
How can we continue remembrance of God’s plan of redemption in 2025? We can include in our daily devotions activities that recognize and acknowledge God’s gift of redemption. Scripture memorization, meditation, and journaling are great starters. Being intentional in our efforts will ensure we never forget what Jesus Christ has done and continues to do for us! (2 Corinthians 1:9-10)