Easter: Past, Present, and Future

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:1-3

To fully appreciate the meaning of Easter we need to understand it in terms of past, present, and future.

Easter Past. This is the historical dimension of Easter. Christ rose bodily from the dead in space and time on that first Easter Sunday more than 2,000 years ago. The tomb was empty and he appeared to various of his followers on numerous occasions.

Easter Future. This is the great Christian hope: the day will come when all who have died will hear the voice of the Son of God and rise from their graves (John 5:28). O Death, where is thy sting? 

But Easter is far more than a past event and a future hope. We must also consider:

Easter Present. Every Christian who has been born of the Spirit has experienced a spiritual resurrection from death to new life in Christ. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead dwells in us (Rom 8:11) and all things have become new (2 Cor. 5:17). That’s why Paul says that, if we have been raised with Christ let us set our minds on the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father.

No one has expressed the joy of Easter Present better than George Herbert in his poem, Easter: Rise heart, thy Lord is risen! As we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and our future hope, let us lift up hearts to heaven in joyful celebration. We are alive and well in Christ today!