"Why seek ye the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5)--Happy Easter!

John 20:11-18

Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. With His sacrifice, the Lord atoned for our sins and shortcomings and, consequently, ransomed our souls from death and damnation. It was not an easy task, even for Deity. But while we naturally tend to think of Christ's sacrifice for us, we must not forget why He did so. I don't mean, by this, the purpose of the atonement or resurrection, but His motivation: deep and abiding love. The Lord suffered this because of His love for us; He wants to help and comfort us. We merely need to look to Him for assistance. (Of course, the Lord will not necessarily prevent or deliver us from our challenges and trials. These serve not only to help us develop, but also act as a sieve to separate the faithful from those that are not; and, by maintaining our faith in the face of adversity, establishes our testimony of the living Christ).

As we know, "it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." It is the gift of this grace which we celebrate today.

Happy Easter.