Easter and Beyond E
By John Cook
aster, or the Great Feast of Easter, or Resurrection Sunday as it is also called, is almost upon us. Many churches and Christians go to great lengths in their celebration of this day.
While Easter is indeed a day of joy and gladness, we do well to remember
that every Lord’s Day is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ, as well as a time to look forward with anticipation to the great final resurrection, which is to come! (This is one reason why the day of worship for Christians was changed from the Sabbath Day (seventh day) to the “first day of the week,” which we call “The Lord’s Day.”) Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 15 that because Christ, the “first-fruits” from the dead, has been raised, we also will be raised because we are part of the same harvest. This means that as sure as Christ has been raised, so is the certainty that we shall be raised from the dead. This is indeed reason to celebrate and praise the Lord with great joy! But Easter Sunday is only one day on the yearly calendar. Then what? Some
who call themselves Christians will not be seen in church for another year (or half a year until Christmas). Others will quickly forget the pageantry of Easter as the church settles into the “regular routine” of worship once more. Others will use Easter as a day to bolster their faith and resolve to continue their walk of faith with the Lord. For the true Christian, the Word of God is more important than special holidays. However wonderful special days may be, the Word of God is to be our foundation of faith. Perhaps Easter is a good time for us all to make a fresh commitment to God’s Word, to reading it and living out its precepts and instructions. Wilhelmus a’ Brakel, a Dutch pastor and theologian in the 1600s, gives five guidelines to believers who wish to properly use and reflect upon the reading
of the Word of God. • Joyfully give thanks that the Lord has permitted His Word to be recorded, that we may have it in our homes, that we can and are privileged to read it, and that it was applied to our hearts;
• Painstakingly strive to preserve that good spiritual frame which is obtained by reading the Word of God;
• Meditate, while engaged in one’s occupation, upon that which one has read, repeatedly seeking to focus thoughts upon it;
• Share with others what you have read, whenever possible, and dis- cuss it;
• Especially strive to comply with what you have read by bringing it into your practice of life.
Then he writes, “If the Holy Scriptures were used
in such a fashion, what wondrous progress we would make in both knowledge and godliness! Children would soon become young men, and young men would soon become men in Christ Jesus.” As you consider all the Lord has
suffered for you in paying the price for your sin, in dying for you, and in His being raised again for your justification, recommit yourself to the reading and living of His Word. Don’t leave Easter on one Sunday of the year, but live out the resurrection life on a daily basis. May we all “hunger and thirst” for righteousness as our Savior taught us to do.?
Rev. John Cook is the pastor of White Oak ARP Church in Senoia, Georgia.
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