Have you ever wondered why today's icon of Easter is usually in the form of the Easter Bunny playfully hiding eggs for kids to find?
In ancient times, the bunny or hare was seen to be a symbol of purity and had become a strong motif in medieval tradition and religion. Easter was pictured out as a hare passing around eggs to kids who had done good deeds and ignoring those who practiced mischief.
The hare was often used as a symbol to signify the Holy Trinity and the power of a Godhead who worked together for the salvation of mankind. But as always, we lost our way through the symbolism.
Easter is not a holiday for egg-finding and egg-painting games. Although it is unknown if Jesus's resurrection truly happened on the date that Easter is set in our calendars, it stands to signify that one event in history that completely changed the course of the universe.
The power of the resurrection was more than just the power to bring one man back to life. It stood as a seal to the ultimate power that would free all of mankind from the power and darkness that is sin.
1 Thessalonians 4:14 says "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep." What this tells us is that in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we now have life after this one in God's kingdom.
But the power of the resurrection does not only apply to eternity. It also applies to today. Romans 8:11 says, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you."
Through the resurrection of Christ, we are liberated and set free not just from the power of sin but from the consequences of sin as well. All sickness, curses, doubt, fear and disability are broken through the resurrection of the body of Christ.
We believe that the resurrection of Jesus was a past event, but one with implications that do not only affect the decades coming after one man came up from the dead. It affects the lives of everyone from all time. The resurrection of Christ stands as the victory that all men -- past, present and future -- now have because of what our Lord has done for us.
