“Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” – Matthew 28:7

When the women came to the tomb of Jesus early on that first Easter morning, the surprise of their life was waiting for them! Instead of a dead rabbi, they met an angel who surprised them with the greatest good news imaginable. Jesus Who had been thoroughly and completely dead (make no mistake about that, because the Romans certainly didn’t) was no longer dead.

Jesus was alive! They would meet Him (very soon). His disciples would talk to Him, eat with Him, and learn from Him. Jesus Has decisively risen from the dead. This is the truth seen by many witnesses. This is the truth the apostles devoted their life to and most ultimately died for. This is the truth that changes EVERYTHING.

Jesus was truly the Son of God. Jesus really did take all our sin upon Himself on the cross. Jesus really did receive all of God’s holy wrath for our sin so we wouldn’t have to. Jesus died and was buried. Jesus rose from the dead utterly victorious over the evil power of sin and death. Jesus is alive and our sins are forgiven through faith in Him. Jesus is alive and we will live forever in Him. Jesus is alive and Satan is defeated.

As Easter approaches, don’t get overly excited about candy and bunnies. Get overwhelmingly excited about THIS truth!

“Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.’” – Romans 15:2-3

One of the more radical marks of Christian community should be that we’re more focused on pleasing other Christians than we are on pleasing ourselves. What a difference it would make in our churches, communities, and nation if every Christian took this command (it ISN’T a suggestion) seriously every moment of every day!

Conflict would fall away in churches because everyone would be focused on what’s truly good for everyone else rather than their own interests and preferences. Divided and hurting communities would be healed by the work of blessing performed by followers of Jesus. The world would see how radically different Christians were from every other religious, political, or ethical system and would take notice. Jesus said that the way we treat one another is the proof that our faith is real and that means pleasing and building up our neighbors.

Live to build other believers up. LIVE to build OTHERS up rather than yourself. Don’t tear people down. Work for your neighbors’ good, trusting that God is looking out for yours. Follow the example of your Lord and live to please others, always. If Christ can put others first, then we who have Christ’s Spirit living within us must also put others first.

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” – Romans 12:17

In any situation, whether good or evil, you can only control the behavior of, and be responsible for, one person – yourself. If you’re a follower of Jesus, a Christian, a believer, then you’re responsible for acting like Jesus at every moment. That may be hardest when you’re on the receiving end of someone else’s sinful behavior. How should you respond in Christ?

In our humanity, we’re outraged and naturally want to “get them back”. We envision ways to punish or repay evil. We imagine exacting justice on them ourselves. We long for vengeance. These instincts are unsuited to Christians. Christ requires us to reject these ideas completely. We must not let our minds dwell on ways to get revenge. We can’t spend our days and nights stewing on how to make them pay. This isn’t to say we shouldn’t pursue appropriate legal remedies (after all, that’s why God blesses us with governments). However, we must not lash out on our own, repaying evil for evil.

Instead, we must take on the mind of Christ our Lord. When He was confronted by our hatred of God and rebellion against Him, Jesus didn’t “pay us back”. Instead He entered our world and sacrificed Himself to redeem us from our sin (Romans 5:8). Rather than repay our vast evil with greater evil, Jesus responded with love, grace, mercy, and His own suffering and death.

As Christians, we’re required to live by this verse. It isn’t optional. We don’t get to exact revenge on others or make them suffer because they made us suffer. We’re called to empty our minds of evil thoughts and fill them with thoughts of how we can glorify God in the situation and act in a way that all will see and admire, praising God. If you’ve been wronged, mistreated, and sinned against, Christ absolutely understands all that. He grieves with you but doesn’t want you to poison your mind with dark thoughts of evil. Fill your mind with the light of Christ.

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” – Romans 12:6-8

If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit has given you one or more special gifts. These gifts of grace could be highly visible and dramatic or they may quietly empower you to work “behind the scenes”. They represent abilities and passions given to Christians for a particular purpose – to build up the local church and the Kingdom of God. These gifts are meaningless if we don’t use them. As we use them, we experience supernatural joy, energy, and endurance, knowing that while our work may be difficult or even thankless, we’re in God’s will and He is pleased.

Do you know your gift(s)? Are you using them? The first step if you aren’t is to make sure you’re connected to a local church and intentionally serving rather than just participating. The best way to discover your gifts is to try serving in various areas that interest you or that a mature Christian suggests might suit you. Not everything you try will work out – that’s OK. Fulfill your commitments with integrity, then respectfully step away from that area to try serving somewhere else.

Once you find an area of service that brings you the quiet joy of the Holy Spirit, you’re probably using your gifts. Invest deeply in that area with your time and energy and see what God begins to do through you. You’ll probably be quite surprised!

“Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him.” – Matthew 26:67

How do you feel about this? How would you respond if you were in the sandals of Jesus? Jesus took it and turned the other cheek to be hit again. He Who holds the universe together took it. He Who could have summoned armies of angels to His defense took it. The Son of God accepted disrespect, humiliation, and injustice with silent strength. Why?

To make peace. To reconcile. To forgive. To rescue. To heal. To restore. Who? Us!

Jesus accepted humiliation, torture, and death to make peace between sinful mankind and our Holy Creator. Jesus experienced utter disrespect to reconcile us to God and restore us to loving relationship. Jesus was abused so that He could redeem us from slavery to the very sins being committed in that moment and to rescue us from death. Jesus took it so He could give us new life in Him and eternal life in the presence of God the Father. Jesus took it to unite us with Him through His own death and resurrection. Jesus took it so that our shame and guilt could be washed away forever. Jesus took it so that all who believe in Him can experience these wondrous blessings and benefits by the grace of God through faith in Christ.

Jesus also took it to teach us that we too can (and must) take it in Him. If you’re in Christ, then you have His strength to take risks, be humiliated, and suffer for the sake of making peace and reconciling with hostile parties. As followers of Jesus, we’re called to follow Jesus – even into this. We don’t get to indulge dreams of revenge or demands for respect. Our Savior set those things down and turned the other cheek so that we could follow Him in reconciling and rescuing a lost, broken, ugly, hurting, angry world. There’s plenty of work to do once we embrace the strength He’s given us to take it. Are you ready to do the hard work of saving the world?