“He has risen!” – Mark 16:6

Anything we’ve had for some time we tend to take for granted. Psychologists call it hedonistic adaptation. Think about anything you wanted really, really badly and how excited you were when you got it.

Were you praising God, thanking the person who gave it to you, writing thank you notes, and telling all your friends? How long did that last?

How long did it take for the new to wear off, for you to no longer say “thank you Lord” every time you see it? For me, it never takes long.

What about your faith? I grew up in the church. I knew from early on that Jesus died for my sins and that I could have eternal life by accepting Him as my savior. I did accept Jesus as my savior and firmly believe I will spend eternity in heaven.

I guess I was excited (and probably very nervous) when I made the decision and was baptized, but then life kept going. Eternity seems like a long way off and I’ve got things to figure out here. So my excitement about eternity gets crowded out by cares about today.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the sower. Some of that seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew and choked the plants. In verse 22, Jesus explains that the thorns were the “cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches” which caused the plants to bear no fruit.

I don’t know about you, but my chief aim in life is to get to eternity and get a “well done.” To reach that end, I must not let the cares of this world drown out my excitement about what God has given me through Jesus.

I was told one time that a great way to deepen your appreciation of something is to imagine your life without it. Think your truck is getting too old and you deserve a new one? Imagine your life without a vehicle. Is your house too out of date, small, dirty, etc.? What about your relationships? Imagine your life without the people you care most about.

For those of us raised in the church, I believe this is a good exercise to renew our appreciation for what God gave us when He sent his son to die on the cross for our sins and what was accomplished by his death and resurrection. What did God accomplish through Jesus and what would we be missing without Jesus’ sacrifice?

– The removal of our sin. In John 1:29 John the Baptist calls Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

– The removal of God’s wrath. 1 John 4:10 says “in this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

– Reconciliation with God. When Jesus died, “the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom” (Matt 27:51). Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have “boldness and confident access through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:11-12). Through Christ, we can freely and openly approach God.

– Redeemed from Sin. Romans 6:1-7 shows us that we are no longer slaves to sin. It may not feel like we have power over sin, but we do. God has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)

When Jesus died on the cross and rose on the third day, he defeated the devil (Colossians 3:15). Sin, the devil and death no longer have any control over us.

In this world, we will have trouble (John 16:33), but the game has been won. We are victors.

As we walk through this life dealing with the shortcomings of a fallen world, we cannot lose sight of the victory that has been won for us.

If we imagine what life would be like without what Jesus accomplished for us, then maybe we can see this amazing gift with fresh eyes. Wishing you and yours a very blessed Easter.

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Curt Fowler is president of Fowler & Company and director at Fowler, Holley, Rambo & Stalvey. He is dedicated to helping leaders build great organizations and better lives for themselves and the people they lead.

Curt and the team at FHRS help leaders build great companies through Virtual CFO, strategy, tax and accounting services.

Curt is a syndicated business writer, keynote speaker and business advisor. He has an MBA in strategy and entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School, is a CPA and a pretty good guy as defined by his wife and four children (No. 5 coming June 2021!).