Yesterday across the nation and across much of the world it was a different kind of Easter. Families didn't travel to gather with their extended family to eat an Easter meal and watch the younger ones find the hidden eggs scattered across the yard. Families didn't wake up to attend church and stand with fellow Believers, worshipping the Risen Savior. I didn't rush around and iron the button downs and the khakis as I usually do on this one Sunday of the year--the one time we dress up in an effort to signify the importance of this Lord's Day above all of the others.
Instead, we shuffled into our living room in our pajamas and morning hair. My house full of teenagers walked directly from bed to couch, dragon breath and all, to partake virtually in our church's Easter service.
As my teenagers would say, 'Easter hit different this year.'
As I sit this morning on the other side of yet another Easter, I can't help but contemplate that God is doing a new thing in the heart of His people and He's using 'different' to accomplish it.
Our Easter quarantine brings to mind the ancient story of the Israelites when God rescued them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Specifically, that they had to 'shelter in place' on the fateful evening that He unleashed the final plague. In Exodus 12: 3-13, God gave them specific instructions as they gathered in their home: kill an unblemished lamb or goat, spread the blood across the doorway of their home, eat all of the meat before morning and be dressed and ready to go. If they did these things, the Angel of Death would 'pass over' their home, sparing them the devastation of their first born dying. After God gave the Israelites their 'shelter in place' instructions, 'they fell down and worshipped' (Exodus 12:27). Every year thereafter, God's people celebrated what became known as Passover as a way to remember that He had saved and spared them.
This event in the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of what would take place in the future. Thousands of years later Jesus came to this earth for the sole purpose of saving us. He willingly hung from a cross, shedding his blood for every one of our sins, past present and future. Three days later, He rose again and conquered death. When we put our faith and trust in this fact, His blood covers and protects us from death, just as the Israelites were protected many years ago. Thus, this Passover celebration has come to be known as Good Friday and Easter as we know it today.
There are so many lessons to be gleaned from our 'Easter that hit different' this year.
For one, just as a hen gathers its chicks, God is gathering His followers to lean in close. During this quarantine season, He has removed the distraction of busyness. No longer are we running to and fro, from one activity to the next. He has put a stop to our whirlwind of noise. He has intentionally made us be still. He has taken away our false gods of sports, activities and service. He is beckoning us into the silence. For far too long we have had divided hearts, segmented between all of the 'things' we must accomplish. Rushing around with our schedule jam-packed, we neglected our first love. Just as He called out the church of Ephesus in the book of Revelation, He is calling us out. 'Return to me,' He says. Love me with all of your mind, all of your heart and all of your soul. How did the Israelites respond to God's 'shelter in place' instructions? By bowing down and worshiping. What is our posture during this season? How are we going to respond to God's call? What will you do with your time at home?
Secondly, do you truly know Jesus through and through or just in name only? Do you know Him as an intimate friend or distant acquaintance? Have you bowed down in surrender and humility? He stands at the door and knocks. The door is covered in His blood of protection. Are you going to open it?
Finally, after the darkest of nights, the first beam of sunlight shone itself. The sun steadily rose, invading and conquering the darkness. The Israelites were dressed and ready. Shoes were buckled and necessities were packed. The evening had been full of uncertainty and risk, but they chose to blindly trust and follow God's instructions. Now they were prepared to follow God out of the bondage of slavery and into the Promised Land. Weeping may have endured for the night, but there was joy in the morning.
When Jesus burst forth from the grave, darkness was overcome with the Light of the World. Death was conquered once and for all. He is beckoning us to come out of the darkness and into His wonderful light. He doesn't just want a part of you, but he wants you in your entirety. He is the God of All in All and He wants your all.
The past few weeks have made it glaringly clear that this world is full of uncertainty. The government can't save us. Our money can't save us. Our knowledge can't save us. Rules and regulations can't save us. Charts and graphs don't have all the answers.
God is sounding the dinner bell on the back porch and calling His people home. He is inviting us to eat and drink from His table of Living Water and Bread of Life. Just as God led the Israelites out of bondage, He is leading us out. They were dressed and ready. Are you?
Easter may have hit different this year but I want to embrace the different by becoming different. God is doing a new thing and I don't want to miss it.
Isaiah 43:19: 'Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.'
1 Chron. 22:19: Now determine in your mind and heart to seek the Lord.
