Living message for Easter

The seminal moments in our lives are clear.

There was that first memory as a youngster.

There was the first day of school.

There was the first memory of being in church.

The eyes of a child were clear, imagining great things in a promising world. There was joy. There was hope.

There was that first relationship.

Remember the first vehicle you had?

Starting high school was an experience.

Beginning college was a challenge.

Getting a good job and then getting a better job was huge, enjoying professional success.

Finding happiness in marriage was rewarding.

Being able to help and reward others has been special.

Life is an ongoing, evolving, learning experience.

There are many good lines from many good movies over many years.

Dead Poets Society gave us “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys! Make your lives extraordinary.”

The future is important but address your present situation and make the most of it.

From Braveheart, we got “Every man dies. Not every man really lives.”

There is no doubt this is accurate. I have witnessed it.

A Few Good Men gave us the “you can’t handle the truth” line.

For many years, I could not handle the truth or live in the truest fashion.

The Natural gave us the “we all have two lives, the live we learn with and life we live with.”

It has taken a long time, make that a lifetime, to learn the best lessons this life has to offer. Factually, I am still learning on a daily basis and hoping to apply what I have learned to become a better person, to live a better life. If you will pardon the pun, that is a “natural” fact.

The Shawshank Redemption gave us “get busy living or get busy dying.”

Borrowing from the long-time soap opera title, we all have one life to live. How we choose to live it will determine our ultimate journey, the relative success we experience.

It is incumbent upon us all to live our lives to the fullest, to experience the best this world has to offer. Sadly, some hit the wall in life and stop living, just passing the time, the days, almost waiting for death to arrive.

As my friend Chris Bando, who led me to a renewal in my life once told me, you are either living to die or dying to live.

If you are living to die, your faith, your purpose, your goals are all ensconced in this world.

It you are dying to live, your faith, your purpose, your clear goal is to live beyond your earthly existence, to believe in eternity, to accept that your soul, your spirit will live on.

It takes faith, perhaps a leap of faith for some, to accept that there is life beyond this existence.

It takes faith to believe that the promise of eternal life is real.

It takes faith to accept that Jesus is the son of God, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent.

It takes faith to believe that he rose from the dead to life to defeat sin, to defeat sin for us, to free us from the bondage of sin, to provide a way out, forgiveness, a path to eternal life.

Today is a day where faith is manifest in the celebration of the rock that was rolled away and the supreme being, who lived as man, walked out of that tomb. It is empty. He’s alive. We’re forgiven. Heaven’s gates are open wide.

That is the basis of the Christian faith.

It is what many adhere to.

For those who do not and for those who are of other faith backgrounds, there is love and respect for you.

The message of Christ, the gospel message, the greatest commands of all are to “Love one another as I have loved you. All men will know you are my disciples if you love one another,” John 13:34-35.

The other is Matthew 22:37-39: “You shall love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The hardest one to embrace is Matthew 5:43-48: “You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven.”

The eyes of an adult are still clear. Let us block out the distractions, overcome the anger and lack of patience, seek to understand and give unconditionally to others.

That joy and hope as an innocent child still lives within us. May we all experience it today and moving forward. Today is a day of joy and of hope.

For believers, today is all about prophecy being fulfilled, providing freedom, an escape from the bondage of the failure of sin.

Let us fulfill a prophecy to turn over a new leaf, to reach our full potential by serving the Lord and serving others, by exhibiting the true love of the one we claim to serve.

As believers celebrate the Risen Lord, let us all strive to rise today and become better persons in all aspects, embracing the tenets of loving one another, of loving our neighbor, loving our enemy.

From Crescent City Sports, have a happy, blessed, enjoyable Easter!