Have you ever seen Groundhog Day with Bill Murray?  It’s in my top maybe 5 movies of all time.  I was thinking about Easter and what it really means and I was thinking of that part where Bill’s character is living the perfect day and he comes up and gives the Heimlich to the mayor of the town.  He saves the day, smirks, turns to leave and lights a woman’s cigarette on the way out.  Smooth.

I was thinking about it  because the Bible describes Death as consuming.  Literally, we are being eaten by death, consumed by the shadow, falling down into Death.  You could think of us as falling into this giant mouth, down into Hell.  When Christ died though, something crazy happened.  Death choked. 

See when we die, it makes sense.  We deserve it.  It’s not natural, but it happens to all because we are all alike, under the curse.  When Christ came though, He lived perfectly.  He didn’t deserve death, and yet He died.  God allowed something to happen that had never happened before.  A sacrifice was made.  God himself died.  He allowed Himself to die in our place.  It was here that Death got a morsel too big.  Here Death was stymied.  We celebrate at Easter because in the death of Christ, Death died.

Praise be to God, that’s not the end of the story.  It’s not like Armageddon where Bruce Willis goes down with the asteroid or Vader kills Ben Kenobi.  (are all my illustrations movies?)  Three days later, with the apostles alone and scared, the world shaken by the death of the ruler and our the creator, two women find an empty tomb.  HE IS RISEN!!!  Death died and He did not.  Our great God found a way to take away our punishment and live.  Though He died, He also rose.  Does that not make you want to yell?  We have a way of salvation and He isn’t dead!!

Let nothing stand in the way of your celebration this weekend.  Let it charge you up and make you strong.  Let your mouth stay smiling and goose-bumps run up and down your arms like every 15 minutes.  Our Great God has made a way.  Let His people rejoice!!

Literally jumping up and down right now,

Ben

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 1:54 pm and is filed under Encouragement.