What Easter People Do

Today’s Message was written by my friend Rev. Andy Odom.

Today I want to talk to you about hope. Hope is one of the great earmarks of the Christian faith. The reason for that, of course, is because our entire belief in Jesus Christ is centered around an empty tomb on Easter morning. For us, every day is resurrection day, which is a viewpoint that is saturated with hope.

When Eugene Peterson talks about hope, he describes people with minimal hope as living in drudgery and boredom because they think they know what’s going to happen next. They’ve made their assessment of God, the people around them, and themselves, and they know what’s coming. But people who hope, he goes on to say, never know what’s coming next. They expect it is going to be good because God is good. Even when disasters occur, people of hope look for how God will use evil for good. A person with hope is alive to God.”

In other words, hope is powerful. It is stimulating. It keeps us on our tip toes looking for the unexpected.

That’s what Easter people do. They look for the unexpected because Easter morning is the poster example of something from God that was completely unexpected. 

As you walk through your week, remind yourself that there’s no way to know what’s going to happen next. Look for the good, because God is good. Be expectant of the unexpected.

In Romans 5:5, we read, “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

Let us pray: God of Grace, we are excited to see what you will do next. Help us place our hope in you; through Jesus, we pray. Amen.