Written by contributor Justus Wagner

As we wrap up our celebration of Easter for this year, we probably have the real meaning of Easter fresh in our minds. However, I love the way that Steve Turner puts it in his poem “Death in His Grave”:

I woke in a place that was dark
The air was spicy and still
I was bandaged from head to foot
The morning that death was killed.

I rose from a mattress of stone
I folded my clothes on the sill
I heard the door rolling open
The morning that death was killed.

I walked alone in the garden
The birds in the branches trilled
It felt like a new beginning
The morning that death was killed.

Mary, she came there to find me
Peter with wonder was filled
And John came running and jumping
The morning that death was killed.

My friends were lost in amazement
My father, I knew, was thrilled
Things were never the same again
After the morning that death was killed.

That is what we are celebrating on this Easter Sunday! Or, in the words of John Mark McMillan, Jesus “laid death in his grave.” It is certainly something worth rejoicing! But we forget about rejoicing sometimes, don’t we?

In Steve Turner’s poem, I love the line: “My friends were lost in amazement.” Not that study and theology aren’t important, but we get so focused on the nitty gritty details about Christianity that we forget what it is. We spend so much time looking at the brush strokes of the painting, that we forget that it makes a picture. Just take a step back for a second, God loves us! God gave His ONLY Begotten Son for us! How totally amazing is that?! Just take a moment to think about that. Just for a second, don’t worry about the theology behind propitiation or how much cooking or cleaning needs to get done for this afternoon…just meditate on how incredible this is.

Turner also depicts John as running and jumping. I love that picture! It shows both the dedicated following of Jesus and the fact that he is filled with so much excitement that he can’t help but jump for joy! But we so often forget about jumping for joy don’t we? I know I often get so focused on the day-to-day stuff that I forget that I need to simply rejoice. I get too absorbed on the difficulties I have in my life or get preoccupied with the distractions I encounter every day. No matter what horrible suffering we may be going through, we still have every reason to rejoice…I mean God loves us! How can I possibly stress how crazy awesome that is any more?!

This Easter, let’s get lost in amazement. Let’s jump and run towards Jesus with child-like wonder at this incredible miracle. Let’s be left in awe of the love God has for us.