Sunday, April 12, 2009

He is Risen!

He is risen indeed.

As a little girl, I can remember my excitement on Easter morning. The whole day, from the Easter basket, to the new dress, to the service at Church, all combined to make Easter Sunday an anticipated day, something only Christmas could top.

Today, I'm still excited. Or more precisely, I'm filled to the brim with awe and hope and joy. Yes, there will be Easter baskets, new dresses for the girls thanks to Grammy and a new dress for me thanks to Target's $20.00 special, and there will be a church service. But more than all of that, I'm so happy that I "get it" more today than ever before. I hope the same is true every year until I am with HIM who we celebrate.

Jesus came, voluntarily, laying down His will and His rights, to be our gateway into relationship with Him. What we messed up in the Garden of Eden, Jesus knew He would redeem on Calvary. And He knew it all from the start. That kind of love is still impossible for me to get my head around, and I don't believe any of us truly will until we see Him and know in full. But for now, as far as my mind will take me, I want to know the depth of the love that Easter represents. Feeble as it is, my understanding blows me away when I take in the magnitude of GRACE.

Today I hope we all take the time, wherever we are, whatever we are doing, to celebrate the LIFE Jesus has offered to us because of Easter. It truly is amazing!

"Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."
Philippians 2:1

2 comments:

Emily said...

Hallelujah! He is risen indeed!

Allyson said...

Hi Angie - I can't seem to get it all together to post my Easter entry yet, almost a week later, But my post has the same title.

One of my favorite parts of the service in years past was watching your granddad stepping out of the empty tomb saying, "He is Risen!" and us replying back, "He is Risen, Indeed!" Of course, many times I remember him doing it twice because we just didn't say it with enough conviction the first time.

I think I wrote this on your blog last Easter, but oh, how I miss hearing him say that with that infamous booming voice with his arms stretched out side-to-side.

We are with Rob at his new church, and I woke up this past Sunday morning about 3a.m. feeling lead to pray for him and the service that would be taking place later that morning. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about this statement and I was praying that Rob would say it during the service (since he did on his facebook page!). He did not disappoint, and it was beautiful. I think Steve McCune even said it as he led worship. It was wonderful to hear that everyone knew the response and I know it brought back sweet memories for almost everyone there!

I love reading your blog and wanted to know how much you and your sweet family bless my heart - and have for many years!

Allyson Stephens