Easter Sunday still matters. It’s a day when members of your church will show up for church, and it’s a day they will be thinking about Jesus. Jesus is the most important man who ever lived, and Easter celebrates the most important thing He ever did. On Easter, we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is a prime time for the Holy Spirit to begin working in their hearts. Whether they realize it or not, God is working on their hearts.
When people talk about Jesus, the Spirit moves in their hearts. When churches take advantage of the natural rhythms of life, they are more effective. Easter is still one of these rhythms, and churches should take advantage of it. Jesus warned Paul that “it is hard to kick against the goads.” God is always trying to bring us to Himself. Sometimes, He works gently, and sometimes He uses a little more force.
We can’t confront culture. We can confront sin, but we need to use the free leverage available to us within culture’s natural rhythms.
Don’t fight the undertow. If you’ve spent anytime near the ocean, you’ve been warned to avoid fighting the undertow. Never swim directly away from the current. Swim back to shore at an angle. It may take you longer, but it will be easier. We cannot come directly against culture’s undertow. We’ve got to take a different approach. We’ve got to use the rhythms around us to reach people. It may take us longer to get to our desired destination or reach our goals, but we’ll extend less energy.
Easter may not always have this leverage. We need to use this leverage while we have it. The millennial generation doesn’t feel the same way about Easter that older generations do. They think of bunnies and chocolate eggs more than a cross and an empty tomb. We’ll have to find rhythms which reach them.
