Easter Scares Me ...

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... And I'm not the only one.  Take, for example, two gals named Mary.  They go on Sunday after Jesus had been crucified - early risers they must have been - as the day was beginning to dawn to the tomb of Jesus.  They had certain expectations.  Jesus would still be dead.  The big rock would still be laying in front of the tomb.

Being a lover of great dramatic tales (understatement), I love how God chose to show these gals that He is a keeper of promises and that His Son tells the truth.  Suddenly.  (I just love that word.  It suggests that normal was being experienced and then - SHAZAMM! - a new thing happens.)  So, suddenly, there is a great earthquake.  So violent, this earthquake, the stone that had covered the entrance to the tomb was now rolled away.  But - again I love the flare for the dramatic - an angel is discovered sitting on top of the boulder! Ha!  And, come on folks, this was no ordinary angel.  This angel had a face that shone like lightning and his clothes were white as snow (fashionably appropriate since it was now Spring)!  So fantastic was this angel that the guards surrounding the temple fell to the ground as if dead (they fainted).  Poor tough guys - frightened by an Angel.

Then the Angel addresses the two left standing - the girls (hee, hee). He tells them a few things:

  1. Don't be afraid.
  2. Jesus isn't here.  He rose from the dead just like he said he would.
  3. Go quickly to tell the others that followed him.
  4. You will see him in Galilee.
With this message received, the girls are "frightened but also filled with great joy".  Let me say that again ...frightened but also filled with great joy.

Fear.  Fear of what?  Fear that their testimony would not be credited as legit for they were - after all - women. (In context, women's testimony was considered less reliable than a man's.) Fear of what the ramifications were to a risen Savior.  Fear of no one believing them.  Fear of government oppression for starting a political uproar.  Fear ... Of any number of things.

Fear - yet filled with great joy.  Joy that what they thought impossible was - after all - possible!  Joy that they would see their Jesus soon live and in person.  Joy that perhaps everything else they may have doubted would come true as well.  Great joy - too great to count.

This is my experience with Jesus, too!  I find myself fearful at times living on this planet.  
  • Hearing ISIL has declared war on the EU causes me to fear.  
  • Thinking about what life may be like for my girls in the future causes me to fear.  
  • Thinking that what I hoped to accomplish with my life will not be seen with my own eyes sometimes causes me to fear.  
Yet, when I put that fear into the lens of Jesus and His power in my life through the Holy Spirit, I am supercharged with great joy.  Great joy that war on the EU by an evil force means experiencing opportunities to be and show the great love of a mighty God in ways only He knows the world around me needs to see.  Great joy that my girls have been chosen to influence their generation.  Great joy that God will continue to use me and my life long after I am gone.

But, there's more to the story.  The message of Easter is the "Do not be afraid" message the angel told our two gal pals.  They were afraid, yet the first thing they were told was NOT to be afraid.  Why would this be the message?  The only reason one tells another NOT to be afraid is when one knows they are bigger, yield more power, or hold more authority than that which is causing the fear.  

There was and is no more need to fear.  Ultimately, the worst fear in life is death.  Jesus conquered death.  Jesus paid the price for sin.  Jesus faced the evil one and won the battle for my soul.  Jesus had now been given supreme authority both in heaven and now on earth.  His death erased any need for me to fear.

That, dear friends, is a great mystery that fills me with great joy! 
Christina

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