What's Not to Like?

The day known as Easter, or as some call it, Resurrection Sunday, is clear - while it's been repackaged to culture at large as a celebration for children, complete with bunnies and eggs, the true meaning of the observance is at the core of our faith - the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, so that we might have new life. Romans chapter 6 says:
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Lifeway Research website relates the findings of a recent YouGov poll - it states:

According to YouGov, 95% of U.S. adults say they’ve heard about Easter, the same percentage who recognize Father’s Day or Independence Day, ranking it just outside the top 10 most well-known holidays in the U.S.

Around 2 in 3 Americans (66%) say they like Easter, while 8% dislike it and 21% are neutral toward the holiday, according to YouGov. The favorability score of Easter places it 12th among holidays.

It also reports that:

In another YouGov study, 13% of Americans say Easter is their favorite day of the year and 34% say they enjoy the day more than an average day. More than a third (38%) say they enjoy Easter about as much as an average day.

And, then, there's this statistic:

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), around 4 in 5 Americans celebrate Easter each year, including 79% who say they plan to in 2025.

The NRF noted that Americans planned to spend just under $190 per person on Easter, for a total of just over 23-1/2 billion dollars in 2025.

And, there's an impact on church attendance; the Lifeway Research story said that "Half of U.S. Protestant pastors (52%) say their churches typically have the highest attendance for their worship services on Easter, 30% say Easter ranks second, and 8% say it’s third, according to a Lifeway Research study."

But what does the celebration of Easter really mean?  What are we celebrating?  The article notes:

...the most recent State of Theology study found 2 in 3 Americans believe Easter celebrates a historical event. Two-thirds of U.S. adults (66%) say the biblical accounts of the physical resurrection of Jesus are completely accurate.

And, how about this nugget of data: "Nine in 10 Americans who attend a religious service at least monthly (90%) say they believe the biblical accounts of Jesus’s resurrection."

For the Christian, when you really consider the meaning of this holiday, what's not to like?  It's the celebration of a cornerstone principle of our faith - we were spiritually dead in our sins, but Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead so that we could have new life in Him.  That is a clarion call to all Christian believers to celebrate what Jesus has done for us.  Without His crucifixion and His subsequent resurrection, we have no salvation and no hope - it's a total package.  He had to die to pay the penalty that each of us incurred, but had to live so that we could be raised up with Him and to possess salvation - the resurrection represented the defeat of sin and death. 

So, again, when you get right down to it - what's not to like?  It's a great time for churches, families, and individual believers to celebrate what our Savior has done.  And, we can be reminded to live out the power of the resurrection, allowing Jesus to live through us.