A STORY THAT CHANGED THE ENTIRE WORLD

BY Terry Mante
March 2009
Accra, Ghana
Culled from http://terrymante.blogspot.com

THE ANTECEDENT OF EASTER

According to the Bible, God created the world and everything that constitutes it. He crowned His creation with human beings at the commanding heights. Our role was to partner with God to rule His kingdom. God wanted us to superintend the physical realm on His behalf. He gave us sufficient authority to dominate the earth as well as maintain and harness all the elements and resources of the earth. Somewhere along the line, we lost our guard and ceded our authority to another force. It then became necessary for God to repossess what man had relinquished. He sent His Son Jesus to carry out that mission.



THE MISSION OF EASTER

Jesus came to reclaim and repossess what man had given away. His intention was to restore us to our dignified position in life. Jesus’ operation on earth was to give us dominion over demonic forces and all the storms of life. The birth of Jesus was an announcement of a new dawn in human existence. His death symbolised the end of our bondage to elements of darkness. It marked the end of ignorance and insecurity in the mind and heart of man. It does not end there. Three days after His death, Jesus returned from the dead. He vanquished death; having done that He set the stage for our restoration. All the conditions necessary to put us back to our privileged position had been met.



THE OCCASION OF EASTER

Every year, when we celebrate Easter, we try to accentuate the mission of Jesus. We remember what Jesus did to restore our dignity. While we may want to go to the beach, play some games or participate in various church activities during Easter, we should not lose consciousness over its real essence. This year, as we celebrate the occasion, it must not just be a holiday; we should determine to make it a holy day. We must realise that the significance of Easter is to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have to be aware of how His death and resurrection influence our destiny.



THE PEOPLE OF EASTER

Somehow, Easter has come to be seen as a festival for Christians. Well, my own view is that Easter is a festival for humanity. At the time Jesus died, there was no Christianity. Christianity evolved only after Jesus had resurrected and ascended to heaven. Christianity as a religion is a creation of man. Easter is for every person who desires to have a meaningful existence. It is for people who are seeking to live a dignified life. Anybody who accepts what Jesus did qualifies to be part of Easter. If you acknowledge that the death and resurrection of Jesus was to give you a meaningful and dignified life, then you are the person of Easter; you have cause to celebrate and give thanks to God.



EVERYDAY IS EASTER

What Jesus did for us has daily significance. It is not exclusively useful to us during Easter. It benefits us every time; even when we are dead. It stands to reason that each day of our lives we acknowledge what He did for us. We must always walk in the consciousness that we have been redeemed by God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Easter is not just an occasion, it’s a daily celebration.