Sunday, April 8, 2001

Easter beckons us to affirm life

By DR. DAVID L. CHANCEY
Religion Columnist

Easter is more than a day.

It is an affirmation of life. Easter is a morning that affirms there is life after death. Death is inevitable, yet eternal life is available to all because of Friday's cross and Sunday's resurrection. Easter means God gives the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ to all who would receive Him.

Easter affirms that there is not only life after death, but also life after birth. Jesus said, "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." Jesus came to give fulfillment, meaning and purpose to life. There is more to life than 12-hour work days, mortgage payments, getting out of debt, and chasing the "American dream." There is a quality to life that only Jesus can give. There is a meaning to life because of the good news of Easter morning.

Easter is more than a new dress. Easter is more than bunnies and baskets full of candy. Easter is more than an afternoon egg hunt. Easter is a celebration of life, a conquering of death, a certainty of forgiveness, and a reason to face tomorrow. Easter is the ultimate reason for hope.

Easter is a timely gift. As B. O. Baker wrote, Easter "is a carnation of hope growing by an open grave; roses of promise for all our broken dreams. It is a cluster of camellias to border misunderstandings; lilacs for those who feel unloved, and a basket of forget-me-nots for the lonely and forsaken.

"Easter is a bed of tiny violets for the weary and the weak; orchids of anticipation to displace the anxious dread. Easter is the endless ivy of God's assuring care. Easter is a garden of inspiration in a world of desperation; the beautiful blossoming of heaven's truth ­ the Lily is alive!"

When the women approached the tomb of Jesus that first Easter morning, they came prepared to embalm a three-day-old corpse. What the three followers of Jesus found was not a corpse but an empty tomb and a messenger that transformed their despair into a sunrise of joy: "He is not here; He is risen!"

Easter is special because Jesus is alive. The grave is empty! Jesus arose! He lives! In Maxwell Anderson's play "Winterset," a
character says, "I came here seeking light in darkness, running from the dawn, and stumbled on a morning."

The women stumbled onto a morning that has become the biggest day of the year. The high point of the Christian life is the moment we realize that "Jesus died for me," and that he didn't stay dead, but that he had victory over death and now lives. As we think about Easter, we remember the agony and necessity of Friday's crucifixion. But the climax of Easter is Sunday's resurrection. Because the tomb is empty, we celebrate and affirm the gift of life.

An artist once painted a picture of a solitary man, rowing his small boat across a stormy lake. It was midnight, and the churning waves beat against the tiny craft, determined to destroy it. But in his scene of what looked like a midnight tradegy, the artist painted a lone star shining in the midnight blackness. The oarsman had his eye upon that star as he labored against the angry waves.

Beneath the picture, the artist inscribed these words: "If I lose sight of that, I'm lost." Jesus is our north star. If we lose sight of him, we have lost our focus and direction.

This Easter, remember the greatest news in the world was proclaimed in a graveyard: He is not here; He is risen!"

The Rev. Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor of McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Ga. The McDonough Road family invites you to join them this Sunday, and to celebrate Easter with them this year.

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