Different Sort of Easter

In a sense, our everyday lives may have been put on "pause," but the work of Christ and His Church
has been in the "play" position, or even "fast forward," observing Hebrews 10:
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

I think we can all agree that it was a different kind of Easter.  Yet, even in crisis, because so many were exposed to the gospel, we can be confident that the presence of Christ was at work and people worldwide heard His message and responded by accepting Christ as their Savior.  And, perhaps there were many who would not necessarily attend a church service physically on Easter participated in a service online.

And, the message of our risen Christ is certainly a story of hope that was needed during these desperate times.

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In all things, we are called to submit to the Head of the body of Christ; the Lord calls us to seek Him daily and make time with Him a priority - and many of us certainly have that opportunity.  Colossians 1 states:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

As we place Jesus in the first place in our lives, we can experience His direction in setting our priorities from that point.  When He is truly Lord of our live and in that primary position, He will establish the way we are to walk and we can rely on Him to show us what is important.  We can allow Him to conform our personal desires to His desires for us, so that our actions reflect His presence within us.  As He preached in the Sermon on the Mount, we can seek Him first.

And, we can continue be devoted to living out and proclaiming with our mouths and actions the glory of the risen Christ!

The Christian Post published the findings of a relatively small survey done by WalletHub about people's projected Easter practices.  One of the dominant questions was very simply, “If churches were open this Easter, would you go?” The article says that 56 percent of respondents said that they would.  The Post adds that:

In 2019, only 27 percent of the respondents said they attended church to celebrate Easter. A majority, 59 percent, said they celebrated with family and friends, while another 25 percent said they stayed home.

Regarding some of the economics, the article states:

Nearly 70 percent of respondents also revealed in the survey that their spending this Easter will be affected by the coronavirus. Forty-six percent said they won’t be spending any money on Easter food or clothes, 42 percent will cut back on candy, 38 percent won’t spend any money on Easter baskets, and 29 percent said they will not spend any money on family portraits.

One of the interesting findings, according to The Christian Post: "only 11 percent plan to observe the holy day at church this weekend."  That is certainly more than you might have expected. 27 percent of respondents said that they planned to watch church on TV.

The survey asked people what they were most thankful for during this current health crisis.  The results were:

• Family, at 40 percent
• Health - 29 percent
• Freedom - 14 percent, and
• Their job, at 12 percent.

And, here is some mixed news regarding giving to churches:

When it comes to giving to their church, 27 percent of respondents said they planned to give less than usual to their church. Seven percent said they would give more than usual while 66 percent said they will be giving their normal amount.

In response to this study, there are some considerations.  First of all, in the midst of alterations, we can think about what is truly important.  We can remember to be thankful for who God is and the relationship that He has called us to through Christ.  We can give Him praise for the blessings in our lives - in this survey, 4-in-10 were thankful for their families, another third for their health.  We can take advantage of this time to think and to thank, emphasizing what's important.

We can also remember to seek out ways to be connected to the church.  This can be done to many different degrees, including participation in online worship and other study and even online fellowship opportunities.  Perhaps it could involve reaching out through simple phone calls or other forms of communication.

And, we remember to be wise in economic considerations.  With many people having lost jobs outright or being furloughed, and with the economy still at an unstable point, we can be challenged to remember to be good stewards of what we do have.  Even though, the stimulus check is essentially an advanced tax refund and you may have already tithed on that money, technically, still it could be a seed that God has provided in order to sow into churches and ministries that really need it - and, as I understand it, there's a charitable deduction involved, as well.