With Lent 2021 solidly in the rearview mirror, I find myself wondering how many folks woke up Easter morning with their own cry of, “It is finished.” How many coffee cups sitting empty since Ash Wednesday were filled first thing Easter morning? How many had donuts for breakfast? Who made certain to pencil in time for binge watching that show they eschewed for Lent? Who quietly rejoiced at no more midweek fasts, extra prayer time, or extended Bible study? How many of us woke up Sunday morning, checked the Lent box on our religious to-do list, and straightaway picked up the habit we’d laid down? How many of us stepped back on the throne of our lives the very moment we sang “He Lives”?
Unfortunately, the transition from Lent to life as we previously lived it, is ridiculously easy. With little to no conscious thought, we slip away from new practices, drifting back into old habits. Within a matter of days, we will have forgotten we even celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as we fight through the endless race for earthly gain, human praise, social notoriety. Of course, we are still interested in going to Heaven! We are still thankful for the death and resurrection of Jesus giving us the opportunity of eternal life. We are happy to have Him live in our hearts. It’s our lives we aren’t certain we want Him indwelling. (Luke 24:45-47)
We aren’t so interested in purposefully dwelling in the constant awareness of Jesus Christ as resurrected, living, and active in our lives. We aren’t always comfortable having Him hear all our conversations, watch all our actions, or go all the places we go. We would rather not weigh our words, consider our emotions, evaluate our tantrums. In fact, many are more than happy to leave Jesus at home to collect dust with their seldom-used Bibles. They will call if they need Him.
Jesus’ disciples would stand in jaw-dropped amazement at our blase attitudes. Whether before or after His resurrection, they would likely have some choice words for us. Words of condemnation, disbelief, disgust. I’m sure they would question our devotion to the Savior. It would be within their purview.
They were blessed to spend every day in the physical presence of Jesus. They traveled with Him, ate lunch with Him, served with Him. They watched His miracles, listened to His teachings, presumably lived according to what He taught. Their sainthood seems certain. Their heavenly mansions reserved. Because of my lofty opinion of those men, I find myself reeling in shock when one of them begs Jesus, “Teach us to pray!” (Luke 11:1)
What?! How can they possibly need to be taught how to pray? Their Example is right in front of them. They’ve been listening to and learning from Him for a while now and they are asking to learn to pray? Jesus doesn’t blink an eye or pause for a second, He starts their lesson immediately. Proper salutations. Proper place. Proper authority. In Heaven. On earth. Now and then. “May your kingdom come. May your will be done. Not just in Heaven where you dwell, but here, now, on earth.” Help us, whether You are here in the body or present only in spirit, to live in the constant awareness of the presence of Jesus Christ as risen and alive. And, Father, help us to act like it. (Matthew 6:9-10; Luke 11:1-2)
Easter Sunday, when you sat in church and sang songs about serving a risen Savior who lives in your heart, this is what you were saying. As you waved your hands, looked toward the heavens, and fervently intoned those words, you were affirming that the kingdom of God lives in you, reigns in your heart, rules your life, and that His will is done in and through you, just the way things are done in Heaven. Your heart is God’s home. His word is the final authority. On that day, as you celebrated the resurrected Savior who is alive and working in your life and world today, as you loudly acclaimed and proclaimed Jesus as your King, this is what you were claiming. Did your life reflect those words on Monday?
It is not enough to observe 40 days of Lent sacrificing coffee and donuts and television if it doesn’t deepen your desire to be God’s kingdom on earth. It is not enough to spend one Friday a year reflecting on the horror of the cross if it doesn’t strengthen your resolve to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and do the Father’s will. It is not enough to rejoice in triumphant Easter celebrations proclaiming He lives if you are going to live every other day as if He is still in the tomb.
It is so easy to forget. We so quickly forget He is living and moving among us today. His death and resurrection happened so long ago. We’ve heard the account so often. It’s such a staple of our belief system, we forget the astonishment, the amazement at finding an empty tomb. We forget the staggering awe, the unmitigated joy of Mary Magdalene as a living, breathing, newly resurrected Jesus called her by name. We give little thought to the burning hearts of the men on their road to Emmaus. We have only passing knowledge of the mixture of disbelief and joy that flooded the hearts of the Eleven as Jesus stood among them, showed them His wounds, and asked for a bite to eat. Because we limit His resurrection to one day a year, we miss out on the awe of the awareness of a living Savior the rest of the time. We forget to be His kingdom. We decline to do His will. Is it possible for us to miss Heaven because we forgot the resurrection? (John 20:1-16; Luke 24:19-42)
In a captivating conversation with Martha, Jesus states, “I am the resurrection and life. Everyone who believes in me will live. Always. They will never die.” (John 11:25) He wasn’t saying everyone who claimed Jesus as their Savior would physically live forever. He was promising eternal life to the ones who knew Him, believed in Him, and lived for Him. Why make the distinction? Because you can know all about Jesus and believe He exists, but if you have not had a life-changing encounter with the resurrected Savior, if you are not living every day as His kingdom where His will is done, you must certainly ask yourself if you truly serve that Savior you so sincerely sang of on Easter Sunday. Do you truly believe in your dependency on His death and resurrection for your soul’s salvation, or is that just something tradition demands, not something your heart resounds? (Acts 4:11-12; Matthew 7:21; James 1:22; Hebrews 10:36; Mark 3:35)
In Heaven, the kingdom of God, His will is the only thing that is ever done. It is perfect. It is flawless. It is absolute. There are no other options. On earth, the place we treat as our own, there are myriad options, mostly disreputable. Down here, we have to choose to be God’s kingdom. We must choose to do God’s will. It is rarely easy. It is never popular. It is always necessary. You’ll be tempted not to participate. When you are, I hope you remember Easter. Remember Jesus wasn’t thrilled to be participating in that gruesome crucifixion even though He knew the outcome was the resurrection. Remember He, through drops of blood, prayed, “Not my will, but Yours.” (Luke 22:42) Remember He did it anyway. Remember He rose from the dead. Remember He is alive and interceding for you, pulling for you to make the choice be God’s kingdom, do God’s will. (Romans 8:34) Remember Easter. Every day. Remember Jesus’ death. Remember His resurrection. Remember it was all to give you eternal life. Remember that eternal life doesn’t start when you die. Eternal life starts the moment you place your faith in Jesus’ Christ, choose to be His kingdom, delight to do His will. Daily remember Easter and live like it. (John 6:47; John 17:3; Psalm 40:8; Romans 14:17)
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