As a child my focus at this time of the year was on Easter. I was looking forward to the Easter basket full of candy that I would find on Easter Sunday morning. It would be the largest crowd of the year at our church and we would give away little bags of candy to everyone in attendance.

Our time of celebration would start a day or two ahead of Easter as we would color Easter eggs. We had little paraffin crayons we would use to make designs or write names on the eggs and the color wouldn’t stick where the paraffin was. We were taught about Jesus’ death on the cross and we had pictures and statues depicting the crucifixion; but as children we were not thinking long on those things, our minds were on Easter Sunday morning when we would find the Easter baskets that our parents had hidden.

As adults our perception of life can be all about the things we receive. We are focused on possessions, power, or fame and we spend a great deal of our time and energy chasing after them. We can try to ignore the darkness that can be caused by our disappointment if we fail to obtain those things. But as hard as we try, it cannot be ignored and all of our human solutions to get rid of it come up short.

Mankind needs the Light of the World that will take on our darkness and fill it with light. Jesus paid the price with His life that even though our hearts are filled with darkness and death, we can have hope if we place our faith in the sacrifice Jesus made for us. That is the reality of Good Friday. Jesus defeated death by dying. Our salvation was paid for by Jesus’ death on the cross. So it is good to linger at the cross awhile before going to the empty tomb. Next week is Holy Week which is all about Jesus death, burial, and resurrection.

We will celebrate Easter because death and dying have indeed been conquered and we will live because The Light of the World carried His light down into the darkness of death.

“Grave where is your victory, death where is your sting.” Jesus was laid in the grave and now is risen from that grave. Darkness is only the absence of light! “The message we have heard from Him we declare to you. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

These are the truths that we encounter at the Gathering Place every Sunday morning at 10:30 and Wednesday evening at 7. Come and join us.