Easter came very early this year, and so it hardly seems possible that we are heading toward our May and June church events already. And as we do so, I would ask that you please never forget Easter and all that it means, in all that you do and are, and in the way you live each day of your lives. For without Easter, there would be no Resurrection. And without the Resurrection of Christ, we would not know of our eternal salvation and eternal life with God. And without our knowledge of our eternal salvation and eternal life with God, we would not know our God as the unconditionally loving and giving and caring and gracious God who we worship.

So as we look forward, with Easter continually remaining in our hearts, let us always live with the characteristics that Jesus taught us - that is, living as Christ lived, loving as Christ loved, and being as Christ was. When we acknowledge Jesus as our Savior, it is not difficult to see how He lived, loved, and was. And it is not difficult to understand how He truly wants us to emulate His life. For by doing so, we are representing the two new commandments He spoke aloud, both to his disciples and to the Sadducees, as He said, “^37bYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22).

People often ask, “How can these two commandments take the place of the original Ten Commandments and the 600+ commandments invented by the religious authorities of Jesus’ day?” Quite easily! Loving God is self-explanatory, as it puts the will of God before our own will, and before the will of others. And loving our neighbor takes care of all of rest. “How so?” you might ask. Well, it stems back to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” that was asked of Jesus by a lawyer who was trying to test Him and trick Him. And, of course, through Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, we are taught that everyone, everywhere, is indeed our neighbor. And thus it follows that if we love everyone, everywhere, as ourselves, then we must treat all people, who we know, and even those we do not know, with the same dignity, respect, and love with which Jesus treated all people.

The church year begins and ends with Easter, as Easter is always present in our hearts. Let us prepare ourselves daily, through personal prayer and supplication, that we might have the strength and faith we need to embody the teachings of Jesus our Christ, and live as God would have us live.

I wish you all a joyous and fruit-filled summer!

In Christ’s Love,