Easter Sunday is celebratory because Christ is the hero of the story. From the very beginning of creation and looking toward eternity, there is nothing he has not overcome on our behalf. As we consider his victory and our ultimate redemption and restoration, how does Christ’s kingship help us to persevere in the challenges and struggles of our earthly lives? There are many movies and books that capture the beauty of a hard-won victory. Whether it is Frodo making it to Mordor in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Marvel heroes fighting for their lives or sacrificing themselves to save humanity, or real-life stories of triumph like Ernest Shackleton’s harrowing trip to the Antarctic stir in us the beauty of perseverance. Living it in real life feels less inspiring. Christ’s journey to the cross and his victory over death weren’t done the easy way, but it was done according to God’s good design. As we look at our lives, including our past defeats and triumphs we can say hindsight is 20/20. Perhaps we see why God, in all his sovereignty and power, allowed such things. Perhaps we remain confused, even wounded, by the heartbreaks and pain. Looking to the future we don’t know what it will hold. At our best we are hopeful and optimistic, in our most human we may find fear, worry, and pessimism creep in. Whatever we have experienced and will experience is not outside God’s ability to be present with us. As we look toward our risen Savior, may our prayer be that he resurrects us too to life, today and forever, whatever may come.
