Night and Day

We have just “gained” an hour of daylight in the evening as well as the days getting longer for a few months and we are halfway through Lent, heading to the conclusion on Easter Sunday. Lent is an artificial season created to help Christians be ready for the Day of Resurrection.

For many, Lent is a ‘Catholic thing’ and to be honest, it is not a strong tradition in the Methodist church nor in my growing up. To some it is a curiosity, but to others it is a season of sacrifice and reflection. To those who practice these traditions, keep it up as we are right at halfway through.

For those who are Christians, but for whom this is not part of your tradition, it is always good to remember the sacrifice Jesus made in giving himself for the sins of the world. Many a year we rush from the excitement of Palm Sunday to the pinnacle of Easter and almost forget that without Jesus’ death, there is no resurrection!

There are no Christian churches that do not celebrate the Resurrection. Some don’t like to use the word Easter, but all of us who are Christian believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Many Christians may not be able to tell you the particular details, but this is a core belief.

There are many types of Christians. From Catholic to Methodist and Baptist to every variety and we disagree on many details of our practices, but at our core is this event that happened in the spring about 2000 years ago. I hope you know Jesus as your savior and that if you don’t, you might want to consider stepping into a church this season or even join us at Scott Driver Park for Easter Sunrise Service on April 9. That is still almost a month away, but maybe you could use this time to think about Jesus’ sacrifice for you and how much He must have loved you to have died for your sins.