PRE-EASTER MEDITATION

By reflecting on all that Christ has done for us, we learn to be grateful – and so live lives that are worthy of our high calling.

                                                                    

As we enter the period of Lent, a period of about forty days of solemn observance by Christians in the run up to Easter celebrations, let us meditate on all the benefits Christ secured for us through His death at the cross:

Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—

who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(Psalm 103:1-5).

Christ not only forgave our sins and healed our diseases through His death. Through His resurrection, He defeated death, sin and the devil:

Death, where is thy sting?

The resurrection of Jesus is the epitome of hope. There is life after death for believers — everlasting life in heaven. Just as Jesus’ death is not final, physical death is not final for those who believe in Him.

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). Can we think of any other promise that offers greater hope to a man when he passes through the valley of death?

Victory over sin

For believers, Christ’s resurrection gives them the power to live a victorious life. Sin’s power over them has been broken.

How is this achieved? First, believers identify with the death of Christ by dying to sin, which is symbolised by the act of baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead, even so believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-11, Galatians 5:16). Set free from bondage to the inclinations of their sinful nature, they are able to resist Satan and no longer incur God’s wrath (Ephesians 2: 2-3).

Satan defeated

The resurrection of Christ also spelt the defeat of Satan. By defying death, Christ “disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities” and “shamed them publicly” by His victory over them at the cross (Colossians 2:15). Believers, now seated in the heavenly places next to Christ, rest in this exalted position of victory over the principalities and powers (Ephesians 2:6). The battle has already been won. Their task is to believe and enforce the victory that Christ has achieved for them at the cross (Ephesians 6:10-11).

As we reflect on all the above during this pre-Easter season, let us learn to be grateful. May our lives be worthy in relation to what Christ has done for us through His death and resurrection.