Are you ready for Easter?

It's been nearly three months since I last posted and the writing bug has finally struck. I'm leading a Kids' Kingdom class for 3rd & 4th graders and want to make sure that they're thinking about Easter more than just on April 4.

I didn't grow up with all the secular hoopla surrounding Easter. Some might consider my family "Easter Scrooges" ;-). No egg hunts, basket of little presents, or Halloween-equivalent candy troves. When I see what my grandkids get from their Bapa & Mema, I feel gipped! Just kidding, Mom & Dad! It's my job as a parent to make sure that when my kids hear the word "Easter," the first thing they think of is Jesus Christ, the Messiah of God--brutally crucified and powerfully resurrected by Almighty God. It's difficult to describe how badly I want them to "get it."

But they'll never get it unless I get it. I want my heart ready for Easter. Is yours ready?

My first Easter as a disciple took on much more significance for me than it had when I was growing up going to church each week. I had finally made both an emotional and intellectual connection between the suffering Jesus underwent and my sin. I also discovered that the Catholic ritual of Lent and Holy Week had more substance than I had realized. Considering the events in Jesus' last week of his life added a great deal more meaning and texture to Easter.

To this day, Palm Sunday continues to mystify me. Jesus made a conscious decision to fulfill Zech 9:9, which states, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." What a tremendous celebration and high for the disciples, who must have felt like conquering heroes! Yet Jesus knew enough to not get completely carried away; he stopped weep over Jerusalem. And how quickly the tide of popularity turns! Less than two weeks later, Jesus was rejected by the crowd, who asked Pilate to release Barabbas and crucify Jesus.

For me, Good Friday is really where it's at. That is where Jesus fulfilled his lifelong mission--to become the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. None of the rest of us could have done it. For one, none of us have enough courage. Imagine knowing for nearly three years how you were going to die? Jesus must have walked by crucified criminals at various points in his ministry. He knew exactly what it would be like when he begged God, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me." The astounding part is the second part of the prayer, "Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Secondly, none of us can save ourselves. I think the band Stabbing Westward captured that sentiment of hopelessness pretty accurately in their song, "Save Yourself." I don't believe swearing is right, but they just seem to fit and be very apropos here. The problem is that most of us are pretty out of touch with our need for a Savior. Those of us who battle depression experience that need for salvation from ourselves. But the need for salvation from our sin so much greater.

Today's culture and pop psychology is all about telling me that I'm already ok and propping me up. That isn't what I think I need to hear this time of year. For me, I feel like God fills me with the power of the resurrection 364 days a year. As a disciple who has been connected with Jesus' death and resurrection and been freed from slavery to sin (Rom 6:1-7), I enjoy a magical and free life.

It is good for me to consider and live in Good Friday for the next week or so. Without it, Easter morning makes no sense. "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).