What does Easter mean?
I was amazed and impressed with both the courage and content of David Cameron’s Easter message this week.
A couple of points particular attracted my attention. He said that it is important to teach children about the religious aspects of Easter. He spoke of how he tried to do this with his own children, Nancy, Arthur and Florence…
“That the festival was more than just ‘chocolate eggs.'”
He also spoke of how…
“Easter is not just a time for Christians across our country to reflect, but a time for our whole country to reflect on what Christianity brings to Britain.”
Photo source: http://www.number10.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/official-photo-cameron.jpg Used under Open Government Licence
I would be the first to admit that eggs and chocolate are a great part of the Easter agenda but I agree with David Cameron in that it is more than that. For me personally, along with millions of Christians worldwide, it is a time to remember, perhaps more than at any other time of year, the incredible love of Jesus for the people on this planet. It is a time of hope that the struggles and tragedies of this life will not always exist because the power of God demonstrated on the cross will destroy such unhappiness. For me, it is a time to celebrate that good can triumph over evil. It is a time to also to pay some of that love forward to those around me.
And yes, because of what Jesus has done Christians have tried to pass on the benefits of that love to others. Florence Nightingale and her nursing reforms, Elizabath Fry’s prison reforms, Barnado’s work for homeless children, Grenville and John Newton’s work at abolishing slave trade are just a few examples of what Christians using the love and power of God have accomplished for this country.
So my prayer is Happy Easter and thank you God that we all benefit in so many different ways because of your love whether we believe in you or not.
