Happy Easter!

This coming weekend is Easter! I would like to wish you all a Happy Easter. This year is unique because my Easter, that is, for Coptic Orthodox Christians, is actually on the same day as for other Christians (it usually is not!). I hope everyone enjoy this wonderful time.

Why is Easter important? For Christians, Easter is more than just the death of Christ. It is realizing that Jesus - God, gave up His life for us. He saved us from our sins and took the burden upon Himself. God, in all His glory, chose to die for us. What humility and what love! Do you love others as this? Can you honestly say that your love for others mirrors how Christ loved us?

I can't. I wish I could - this is something I am trying to work on. This doesn't mean that I have to die for others, but it does teach me that I need to refine what I mean when I say that I am Christian. Am I Christian by name only, or do my actions show it? Can others see Christ through me?

The season of Easter is also a celebration; not just a remembrance of Christ's suffering. The celebration is in realizing that Jesus arose from the dead. Death cannot hurt us - God is alive! He has triumphed over death; we need not be worried about what the world can do to us. We have God to lean on, and He alone can give us peace and joy. We celebrate and  become joyous in knowing that we are not left alone to suffer in this world - God is near to those who believe and call on Him.

For those who are not Christian or do not celebrate Easter, I still urge you to take this time to spend it with those you love. Or, take the time to evaluate your life: what is going well now? What can be changed? Is there room for God in your life? Are you showing love and kindness to others? Is your life so focussed on work and money and sensual desires, that you have lost sight of what is truly important? What IS important to you? Take this time to make new goals. Easter is about starting anew: seeing that we are no longer the same as we are before, for we must learn to see that new beginnings can have powerful and positive changes in our lives.

So, Happy Easter to everyone! Rejoice that Christ in not dead; we are not alone in this world!

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

"But thanks be to God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ". (2 Corinthians 215:57)

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