Are You Ready for Easter?
“ And by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! ”
If you waited until the last minute to grab groceries for Easter dinner, you likely found yourself standing in line like me. As I stood in the checkout line with my sons, a kind older lady turned to my oldest and asked, “Are you ready for Easter? What is the Easter Bunny going to bring you?”
My son—who never meets a stranger and is rarely short on words—just stared at her blankly. I could see the wheels turning in his head: “The Easter Bunny is supposed to bring me something?”
Meanwhile, I stood there thinking, How have we managed to commercialize the greatest sacrifice of all time? Are we rejecting God’s grace?
It struck me in that moment: God must really love us—deeply, unconditionally—because we’ve created space for the Easter Bunny, while the cross is too often pushed to the margins. We dye eggs and fill our baskets, while a man named Jesus—who lived without sin—was nailed to a cross and died for our sins.
Now I’m not casting stones – my kids dyed Easter eggs and participated in the community Easter egg hunt. Both are fun traditions I participated in as a child, but it’s worth pausing to remember: Why do we celebrate Easter? What makes this Sunday different?
“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” — Matthew 27:22
Have you ever been rejected? Not chosen? Not enough—even for the people who were supposed to love you the most?
Kari speaking at the First St. Paul’s Women’s Retreat in Burlington, Colorado.
Now imagine standing in front of your own—the ones you love wholeheartedly—and they not only reject you, but choose to harm you. That’s the weight of rejection Jesus carried.
My heart hurts when my son chooses to sit with his friends instead of me at the movies (it's ridiculous, I know). That small moment stings, but it doesn’t even compare to the hurt Jesus must have felt. What Jesus endured was something significantly greater—the ultimate rejection, cruelty, and pain—all so we could be redeemed.
“Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.” Matthew 27:27-31
This Easter—however you celebrate—I pray your heart won’t miss the deeper meaning. I pray you won’t reject what Jesus did for you. He chose to take your place. That’s not something to feel ashamed about; that’s something to be admired. He didn’t do it because He had to, He did it because He loves you.
If you’re feeling rejected or broken in any area of your life, I pray you find peace today in knowing you are fully seen and completely loved.
Zach Williams says it beautifully in his song “Heart of God”:
There's only love in the heart of God
No room for shame in His open arms
He makes beauty from ashes, so come as you are
'Cause there's only love in the heart of God
Remember, we don’t celebrate a Savior who stayed in the grave. We celebrate a risen King.
“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’” — Matthew 28:5–6
He is risen. You are blessed. What a beautiful thing.
“When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only person in the world.”
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