Thinkaloud | Source of serious joy

… the cornerstone of history

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aster is not only a time of the light-hearted happiness of the carefree child, but it is also an occasion for that serious joy which is experienced by those who have fought and won mighty spiritual battles and who retain a blitheness of spirit that is compelling in its winsomeness.

Easter is about living, dying and living again. It is concerned with the historical life of the God-Man who breathed the air of Palestine at a particular time, who washed His face, who ate plain food, who cracked jokes and enjoyed celebrations, and who had a keen nose for hypocrisy. He was Jesus, the carpenter’s Son, who was born of Mary through the miraculous intervention of God. He was God, who entered human history so that humans would have the opportunity to enter eternity and live with Him forever.

Easter is a time of resurrection, which is particularly noticeable in cold northern countries such as Canada. After the long winter is ended, when the brooks begin to overflow their banks, the trees start to bud and the sun grows stronger, the new life of Easter seems more apparent. The whole earth becomes an object lesson for the central fact of the Christian faith – the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The unalterable cornerstone of history is that Jesus is alive. The salvation He offers to all, when accepted, ensures that the Father abides in the lives of believers – through the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is the best news the world has ever known, or will ever know. This is the source of personal freedom, liberation and resurrection. It is the cause of new personal growth that does not stop when once again winter becomes the dominant season.

For it lasts!

Writer: Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell Ryan is a former Editor in Chief in Canada and the UK. In retirement he is a part-time chaplain in a Salvation Army hospital in Winnipeg, Canada, a copy editor of theRubicon and the author of theRubicon series called Resurrected Writers.

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