Ask yourself the question, is it really worth it?

This time of year, we celebrate the holiday we call Easter. Many times small children get all excited about the easter bunny and easter egg hunts, while parents are busy buying candy, cards, and preparing the easter egg hunts. And who can forget the big dinners and family gatherings? A three day holiday for many, we often overlook the true meaning of the day, and think only of the temporal pleasures that excite our physical senses. But why do we really celebrate Easter? What does it mean?

Easter is the time we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. With that being said, what is it we are remembering, and why did Jesus even die? Jesus left His throne on heaven because we were lost in sin and could not save ourselves. He left a realm of glory to come and suffer, bleed, and die in our place to quench the Father's wrath. You may think, “God must be sick to allow His Son to go through all that just to calm His wrath.” The true answer is this. God is perfect, and there is no sin in Him. For Him to overlook our sins and say “It's OK” would deny the truth and His very being. He would be unjust to say our sin was “OK”. God cannot tolerate even the smallest sin in His perfect eternity. But He loved us...each one of us...so much that He was willing to die in our behalf, since we could not be perfect on our own. And He rose again from the dead so that we could rise to new life and dwell with Him in eternity.

But this is not the end. Are we just saved and then everything is all hunky dory and we go on in our sinful, wretched lives? Absolutely not! How can we live and dwell and lurk in the sin and stench that put our Lord and Savior on the cross...that nailed the nails into his hands...that swung the whip that tore away His flesh? Is it really worth it? Is that sin...that pleasure really worth the blood and sweat that He shed out of love for you and me? He sees our every action, and every time we sin, we deny Him, just as Peter did. We nail the nails into His sacred flesh! How can we live in such treason against our King? Is that sin really worth it? We are lukewarm, and we just don't think do we? Every time we say that foul word, or look at that dirty magazine, or place our work in front of our spiritual well being, or eat that food that we know we shouldn't have, or talk about that person behind their back, or participate in for play and premarital sex, or feel that jealousy and hatred for another person...every time...Christ shrieks in agony over that thing we thought we found pleasure in. Is it really worth it?

This Easter, take the time out of your busy schedule to pray. Seek God's face? When is the last time you did business with God, I mean really pray? I'll be honest, it has been too long for me. Why? Why do we put other things before Christ, and drive one more spike into His wrists? He loves us unconditionally. Let us fight the battle against sin and not waver or give in. “Lord, help me this night to always seek You first before I act upon my impulses. Help me to love You more than I love my sins, and to turn away...do an about face...and never even look back again. Help my friends as well to see the love that You have to offer, and to know that You alone are the fountain of life and peace. Sin is ugly, and it only leads to death. In You is beauty, and You lead us to eternal life. Help us know You more. In Jesus name...”

Is it really worth it?