Happy Easter!

There are few things in life that baffle me more than Santa Clause (see my Christmas posts for details), putting pineapple on pizza or Justin Bieber's popularity. But one thing that also has me scratching my head is the whole idea of the Easter Bunny.

The tale goes that, once a year, a rabbit which has managed to get its paws on many coloured chocolate eggs will come to your house/flat/garden/cave and hide said eggs for your children to find. Seeing as this causes sibling rivalry to ascend to almost astronomical levels, mostly ending in screaming and tears, the only people who look forward to this time of year are dentists.

Or so you may think. In actual fact, Christian believers also look forward to this time of year. It is a time in which we celebrate the biggest sacrifice in history. The time when a loving Father in Heaven sacrificed His only Son so that we may come boldly into His presence. In the past, priests had to sacrifice animals in order to come close to God, but with that single act of sacrifice, God has ensured that we can be in His presence always, the debt having been paid. As a father myself I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like to have to sacrifice my only child on behalf of a sinful and ungrateful world. Jesus went through the most humiliating and cruel death known in the roman time, having steel nails hammered through His wrists and feet, fixing him to a wooden cross. Jesus knew what awaited Him, He was so anxious about it that He started sweating blood. When He was nailed to the cross, even God the Father turned from Him, as He had become the living embodiment of all our sins. Jesus cried out "Father, why have you forsaken me?!" As a father I would also not have been able to look upon my child dying so cruelly. I too would have turned my head, unable to witness their suffering. But Jesus knew He was doing His Father's will, He knew what His sacrifice would mean to a lost and sinful world. And just before He died, he proclaimed "It is done!"

This time of year we acknowledge that massive and heart-wrenching sacrifice. But we also rejoice that, three days after His death, He rose again. Our saviour lives, and through Him we too can have eternal life. All barriers separating us from our loving God have been removed. I urge you, if you have not yet accepted Jesus as your saviour, think of what He did with you in mind. And know that He loves you with a love that defies all human understanding. As He proved with the man who was crucified with Him, it is never to late to accept His love. No matter what you have done, He loves you and wants to be your provider and comforter.