“Easter is the power of God to heal the world and transform every single person who opens themselves to the life and love of Jesus Christ.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – April 10, 2021
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation. 1 Peter 1:3 (NLT)
We live in a culture that doesn’t understand grace, renewal, or redemption. Increasingly, when someone’s faults are made known, they come to be defined and identified by their ignorance and/or brokenness. Rarely do we see the faults in someone else and move towards them with compassion. No, the default response is to exploit and amplify their failures and ensure we keep a healthy distance so as to not be wrongly associated with them. Unfortunately, this pattern plays itself out at a national level, as well as in the closest of interpersonal relationships.
In the midst of this chaos, the church around the world invites us every spring to rediscover the wonder of resurrection. The glory of Easter is not an abstracted or disembodied hope. Quite literally that could not be further from the truth! Easter shows us the hope of bodily resurrection, and therefore transformation of the nitty gritty everyday realities of our lives, including our relationships with one another, and ourselves.
When we encounter brokenness in our society, or in our relationship with our sibling or neighbor, Easter invites us to pause and remember afresh the possibility of renewal. Because Christ is risen from the dead, no one is forever bound to be defined and identified by their worst moments or greatest faults. This isn’t a form of denial, pretending the sickness doesn’t exist. No, it is the belief that freedom from our failures and greatest temptations is actually possible.
If you think now of the person or people in your life that cause you the greatest frustration or pain, do you see in them the possibility of transformation? Do you believe that the power of the resurrection is able to reach them and bring forth a new creation? And perhaps more difficult, are you able to believe the same for yourself?
Easter is not simply a pleasant thought or nostalgic sentiment. It is the power of God to heal the world and transform every single person who opens themselves to the life and love of Jesus Christ. May you believe this for yourself, and extend the same hope of renewal to everyone and anyone you encounter.
Prayer
Father, we marvel today at the power of the resurrection and the invitation into transformed living that you extend to us all. May we respond with gratitude, hope, and faithful perseverance, we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Take time today and pray God’s blessing and peace over the person in your life with whom you have the greatest conflict or struggle.
Related Reading
1 Corinthians 15:20; Ephesians 1:3; Titus 3:5
Start the new year with Boyd’s newest 365 day devotional book: Seeking God’s Heart
Worship Resource
4 minute video- Hillsong UNITED:
Donate
If you are blessed by these daily devotionals please prayerfully consider a donation to support Wisdom Hunters Resources. We are trusting the Lord for His provision.
Download our app!
