This year, I gave up ice cream for Lent. Consider it a sacrifice on a very small scale. Recently, we babysat our grandchildren, and they noticed that there was no ice cream in the house. I quickly got in the car and picked up some ice cream … and some frozen yogurt for myself.

When their parents learned that I had slurped down a bowl of frozen yogurt in place of ice cream, their cry of "Hypocrite!" rang through every fibre of my being.

What I learned again this Lent is that I am a hypocrite. I succumb to temptation. Mea culpa. I can't claim victory. Granted, this is much ado about ice cream, but beneath the laughter of my grandchildren and the scolding of their parents, a deeper message speaks to my need for a saviour.

"Alleluia! He is risen!" The Easter cry forgives every fibre of my being. Down through the ages, this cry speaks loud and clear to a world in desperate need of renewal and salvation.

It begins in an empty tomb — empty, as if nothing is there. Yet it is here in the very emptiness that the gospel speaks of the fullness of life with God, Who provides us with everything.

In Jesus, we experience life over death; sin is beaten, and evil has done its worst. In Christ, there is the victory, once and for all!

Notice that we are not alone as we walk away from the tomb. The disciples, the women, angels, archangels, Christians down through the ages — all the company of heaven — join us as the veil separating heaven from earth is pulled back.

God is revealed, joining us in communion — in union — with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, leading us onward with those who have gone before us, as "death has been swallowed up in victory"! (1 Corinthians 15:54 NRSV)

The Easter victory provides us with new life in Christ. It is life with meaning, purpose, and direction — in Christ. Such a renewal does not begin with us but in Christ. Notice that this little two-letter preposition "in" is a huge word. From the empty tomb, we interact, as we enter into the living mind, heart, and will of the risen Christ.

Paul writes, "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." (Galatians 2:20 NRSV) This is the truth as we walk from the tomb of darkness and death, and experience the Easter light and life of a new day in Christ.

As this Easter season continues, let's go ahead and sing, "The strife is o'er, the battle done. The victory of life is won. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!"

Prayer: Dear Lord, with the eye of faith, we now see the vision before us as, in You, we claim goodness over evil, life over death, faith over fear, and freedom in You which leads us beyond sin and into worship of Your presence here on earth as it is in heaven. Thanks be to You, O God, "who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57 NRSV) Amen.

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About the author:

Robin Jennings <robintjennings@gmail.com>
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
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