A message from our Ignite Enabler and Pastor, Dr Steven Horne.
Firstly, a very Happy Easter to you! I hope you have been blessed.
This time of year for me always means more family time with the children as they enjoy half term, and we get to share with each other the things we enjoy the most. Now, I love Star Wars and don’t mind admitting that every time I hear that distinctive theme tune, I’m reminded of light sabre battles, Darth Vader, and Storm Troopers that couldn’t hit a target if you paid them. So imagine my joy this Easter holiday as one of my daughters decided she was going to watch EVERY single Star Wars film in order.
She’d never seen any of them before, and after the first movie, she was hooked. But then it happened. We got to ‘Return of the Jedi’ and for the fist time my daughter encountered the scene where Luke Skywalker learns from Yoda who his father is (no spoilers here), whilst at the same time, Yoda the 900 year-old embodiment of the Jedi order dies peacefully. I glanced across at my daughter to see tears rolling down her cheeks. The death of the much-beloved Yoda had hit her hard. I was reminded of a few things: Firstly, that the stories we all know so well are always new for someone somewhere. Secondly, the death of Yoda would actually be the catalyst for new life, new revelation, and a new movement. Sound familiar?
Through Holy Week we drew towards the inevitable darkness as Jesus, the servant King, had His life taken in the cruellest of ways. But as the Scriptures remind us, “weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning!” (Psalm 35:5). Sunday morning arrived, the stone rolled away, and the vacancy of the grave was replaced with the presence of new life.
Through Christ’s death, we too are reborn with Him, and with that a new story for our lives and our futures is written. The tragedy is that there are many out there that don’t know this truth. The story of their inheritance, healing, peace, and new life is unknown to them.
After the sadness of Yoda’s death had passed, my daughter felt much better, knowing that the story didn’t end there. Likewise, our story doesn’t end with Easter passing. Easter is the start of new life and indeed a new story for all of us. How many out there don’t know the true and life-changing account of Jesus? How many out there are unaware that the chance to start a new chapter, to be ‘born again’, is within their reach? This week, with Easter still fresh in your mind and thoughts, make a commitment to become a storyteller for Christ.
Have a blessed week.
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