By Terry Lees
EASTER, along with Christmas, is a holiday that is based out of Christianity.
For Christians, traditional holidays like Easter have very special meanings and are a celebration of religious faith.
But what is faith?
Once all the congregation decided to pray for rain.
On the day of prayer all the people gathered, but only one boy came with an umbrella. That’s faith. “Faith” means complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
Life is unpredictable, it is full of surprises, twists and turns and we simply don’t know what will happen next.
Yet still, we continue to live our lives and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, among the tools that help us is faith.
Faith allows us to hold fast to the positive outlook of our life. And it helps us to keep going irrespective of any situation in our life.
Faith helps us weather the storms of life.
Faith turns dreams into reality and gives us the power to hold on in tough times.
Faith doesn’t always take you out of the problem, but often takes you through the problem.
It doesn’t always take away the pain but gives you the ability to handle the pain. Faith doesn’t take you out of the storm. Faith calms you during the storm.
Gifted Ghanaian writer and a teacher Ernest Agyemang Yeboah, says: “If the storm of life gives you a big blow, don’t worry, just give it a great smile and pursue to leave distinctive footprints with perseverance and tenacity regardless of how arduous the errand may be. It may not be so easy but, dare to win!”
Faith gives us the heart to search for meaning in the messiness of life. Faith builds discipline, as we look beyond what is to what will be. The apostle Paul exhorts us to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
St Paul says: We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed… (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).
Every philosophy is ultimately based upon assumptions which cannot be proven and therefore must be taken by faith.
It is said that to sleep is an act of faith.
Eleanor Roosevelt said: If you lose money, you lose much, if you lose friends, you lose more, if you lose faith, you lose all.
As Sharon Salzberg so eloquently says in her book Faith: “Faith is the capacity of the heart that allows us to draw close to the present and find there the underlying thread connecting the moment’s experience to the fabric of all of life. It opens us to a bigger sense of who we are and what we are capable of doing.”
One of the strongest aspects of faith is hope.
Hope – there is always hope and even more, there is resurrection, glorious new life – and it is ours to claim.
We walk the same road as Jesus.
Easter is a religious observance of the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ.
The resurrection of Jesus the Christ is a central doctrine in Christianity.
After being crucified by the Roman authorities and buried by Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus was raised from the dead by God and appeared to witnesses before ascending into heaven to sit at the right hand of God.
His resurrection marks the triumph of good over evil, sin and death.
It is the singular event which proves that those who trust in God and accept Christ will be raised from the dead.
Jesus made us worthy through his death and glorious resurrection.
We are justified and made worthy by the blood of the Lamb of God. God loves us unconditionally.
No strings attached.
Grace is always all around. Love is always all around. We are charged with divine energy.
The Risen Lord walks with us on our journey, just as he walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and he opens the Scriptures to us, as he did with them.
But, most of all, he opens the eyes of our hearts to see him as he really is, to recognise him as Saviour and Redeemer.
Most Churches are filled with flowers on Easter Sunday, representing new life.
St Paul wrote, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is without substance, and so is your faith.”
Without Easter – without the Resurrection of Christ – there would be no Christian Faith. Christ’s Resurrection is the proof of his divinity.
Let’s cling to our faith in the One who created us out of love. Believe – that’s why it’s called faith.
Easter is the time when Christians everywhere proclaim – He is Risen.
Have a golden day and treasure life.
