People have a lot to say about Easter. So much pain in thinking about the Son of God being tortured on a cross and enduring the wrath of God for our sin. So much relief knowing we are clean and free and have been reconciled through His sacrifice. But as I sat here thinking about Easter, I wanted to hear from God. What does He want us to know about Easter?
So, I opened up my bible and read Jesus final prayer for His people. The climax was coming, Jesus was facing the whole reason he came down to meet us in this sinful world, and so He laid it all out in a beautiful prayer to His Father. As I was reading His words, my heart was faced with one major truth about Easter.
Let’s read God’s word in John chapter 17 vs 20-25.
Jesus Prays for All Believers…
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Let’s stop for a moment. Does it hit you right now that Jesus said these words about you and me?? Jesus, the Son of God, the one who died to save us and rose victorious, prayed for “those who will believe in me.” He’s talking about us right now, my friend, so we should probably pay attention. He’s asking His Father to keep us unified as a body of Christ and also unified with God– letting God come into our hearts and every part of our lives.
So why is that so important to Jesus?…
22-23 “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
You may have heard those words since you were little, or maybe this is the first time, either way we need to make sure they sink in. Jesus’ biggest desire is for the world to know that He was sent by the Father, that Jesus is in fact the Son of God, and for us to know that our Father LOVES us.
I feel like that is the biggest truth that Satan wants us to not believe. The enemy wants us to feel unloved, unlovable, unworthy of love, unaccepted, uninvited un—everything. But listen not just to me, listen to your SAVIOR when He said that the Father has loved you!!!
Don’t you think the world would be a better place if each of us Christians would wake up each day, throwing our hands up in praise and a smile on our face saying… “GOD LOVES ME!” How much more love would we be able to give if we face each day knowing we are loved so big by our God??
Not only that, but God WANTS you.
vs 24“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have give me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Have you ever just walked into a friends house and you just know you are 100% welcome there just the way you are? You can come in sweaty yoga pants with no makeup and baby stains all over your shirt– and they don’t care. They just want to give you a hug and have you with them. JESUS is that friend. He wants all of you to be with all of Him. He wants you in His church, in His family, in His everything. He. Wants. You. And that is some good news to my heart.
And so Jesus ends with this…
vs 25-26 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
At Easter we remember that our Savior suffered and died for us, making us right with our Father again. And that He conquered the grave and therefore those who believe in Him as their savior know they are forgiven and saved and will also rise to be with God one day. But we also need to remember why He did it. And take that truth with us everyday of our lives.
So, to be quite simple, the truth about Easter is this…that God loves you and He wants you. You are important, precious, and His. No matter what the world tells you. No matter how people of this world have treated you or made you feel. Know this Easter that the one true God of the universe LOVES YOU and WANTS you more than anything.
Andrea Chatelain 