Set Free

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die…’” John 11:25

I was reading about a Bible class of young children and the teacher was teaching about what happened on Easter Sunday. She decided to see how well they paid attention. She asked them what they remembered about the story of Easter. One little boy said, “They put a big rock in front of the cave so Jesus couldn’t get out.” A little girl said, “An angel came and rolled that rock away so He could get out.” Then a little boy said, “Then, He came out the third day, saw His shadow, and went back in and they had six more weeks of winter!”

What really happened on that first Easter? Yes, Jesus did come out of the tomb in a resurrection body. But so what? What does that really mean for us today? The moment Jesus Christ stepped out of that tomb everything changed for generations to come. For the first time in history, there was freedom from the penalty of sin. The separation between God and man could end. Jesus had paid the debt once and for all on the cross. But He didn’t stop there. He rose from the dead to give us new life so that we could live in relationship with God.

Not only did Jesus free us from sin’s penalty, but also from sin’s power. We are more than just forgiven – we are free to live righteously. We don’t have to be perfect…in fact we can’t be. But Jesus was perfect for us. He met the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf. And through the Holy Spirit living in us, we have the power to live for God and not ourselves.

Finally, because of Easter one day we will be free from sin’s presence. The day is coming when every believer will be given a new body free from the ravages of sin. We will live forever in this perfect body as we praise and worship the Lamb of God who died to take away our sins forever. Can you imagine that? Celebrating Easter in heaven around the Throne of Grace? Free from sin’s penalty, free from sin’s power, and free from sin’s presence…that is what happened at Easter.

Dear Father, thank you for the freedom I have in Christ because of Jesus' willingness to die for my sins. Help me to never take that gift for granted and to live in that freedom every day. In Jesus' name, amen.