5 Ways to Live Like Easter People

I remember this conversation like it was yesterday.

"Will I ever get smaller and be a baby again?" Her sweet three-year-old face looked up at me, inquisitive as always. She was obsessed with babies, asking to hold her twin baby cousins every chance she got.

I shook my head, "No, you will only get bigger and older, not smaller."

"Like five, then eight, then thirty-two, then eighty?" Her eyes grew big, an endless sea of blue.

I nodded.

"And then I'll die and God will take me to heaven?"

I nodded again.

"And He'll give me my house that He made for me, and you and Daddy will come live with me?" She paused to think it through. "Won't that be amazing?! And I'll live forever and never get old again."

I smiled.

"But what will happen to this house?" she asked as she glanced around the living room, concerned for her toys scattered all over the floor.

"This house won't be here anymore. God will make a new heaven and a new earth. And it will be perfect. Everyone will be perfect."

She was quiet for a moment. "Will He take the sin out of me?"

The question startled me. It was well beyond her years. "Yes, we'll have a new life with no more sin."

"I can't wait," she said, walking away. "That will be so amazing!"

As I'm reflecting on the wonder of Easter this year, God brought this sweet conversation back to mind. While eternity will be far more glorious than we can imagine, it's important to remember that new life begins here and now. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, Easter celebrates our being raised from death to life. As Easter people, we are to live in light of the resurrection.

Here are 5 ways we live as Easter people:

1. Easter People Live From a New Identity

We have been adopted as God's beloved children. Placing our faith in the death and resurrection of Christ gives us a place at the table. We are no longer estranged to God, but we have been reconciled by the blood of Christ. Easter people live confidently in the fullness of this new identity, running continually to our Abba Father to find grace and mercy in times of need.

2. Easter People Live Fully Awake

It's easy to sleepwalk through our days, missing the treasures of each moment. The pace of busyness and the pull of distraction lull us to sleep. But Easter people live fully awake to who God is and what He is doing in our lives. We recognize His hand, hear His still small voice and are able to connect what He is doing in present circumstances to His overall story of redemption.

3. Easter People Live in the Power of the Spirit

As Easter people, we no longer follow the desires of our flesh or the ways of the world. Instead we live by the Spirit, walking in step with the Spirit. This requires faith and obedience. We depend on the Spirit's counsel, guidance and empowerment for each new situation. No longer do our emotions control us, but we respond in the fruit of the Spirit, with hearts that long to please the Lord.

4. Easter People Keep Serving the Lord

Since Christ has been raised, we are to be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that nothing we do for God is ever in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). Easter people are steadfast in our faith. Easter people keep doing what God has called us to do, regardless of how difficult it is. Why? Because we know that nothing we do in the name of Jesus is ever for nothing. God sees it all, and He will reward it all.

5. Easter People Live in Hope

When dark days come - and they will - Easter people remember that we’ve been given a living hope. Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and we will be too. We’ve been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light , and we have a future glory that is far beyond anything we can imagine. One day all the dark days will pale in comparison. Fullness of joy is coming.

And in the words of my sweet three-year-old daughter - it will be so AMAZING!

Check out The Easter S.T.O.R.Y., a free Easter resource. It is a one-week Bible study that starts on Palm Sunday and focuses on one short passage of Scripture each day leading up to resurrection Sunday.