Easter Promises

There is a story about a young man from a wealthy family who was taking his A-Levels. Many of his friends were well-off and parents had got into the habit of giving their children a car on finishing school. Jake and his father had spent months looking and, the week before the results were due, they found the perfect vehicle. On results day Jake had done well but, instead of leading him outside to a waiting car, his father handed him a gift wrapped Bible. Jake was so angry that he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house. He and his father never saw each other again; it was the only the news of his father’s death that brought him home. As he sat one night going through his father’s possessions, he come across the Bible his father had given him. He brushed away the dust and opened it to find a cheque, dated the day of his results, for the exact amount of the car they had chosen together.

So many of us have been taken in by ‘empty promises’ that we are wary of trusting anyone that tells us we can have something for nothing. Easter celebrates the fact that God promises us so much more than anyone or anything else ever can. In fact there are three ‘empty promises’ that are freely available to all of us if only we will accept them. They are the promises of the empty cross, the empty tomb and the empty burial clothes. Because the cross was empty our sins are forgiven. Because the tomb was empty we do not have to fear death. Because the burial clothes were empty, Jesus is alive and we can know him as Saviour and Lord.

These are three promises that God makes to you and me and to everyone. They are anything but empty. The promises of Easter – guaranteed by Jesus Christ risen and glorious – are the promise of forgiven sins, the promise of eternal life, and the promise of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So how do you respond? Are you going to cast aside the Bible and its promises like Jake, or will you take God at his word? One more promise, found in Romans 10:13, says this: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Are you trusting Jesus with your life? Have you experienced his forgiveness and eternal life? Do you know him?

This Easter, accept the promises God has made to you – he will never let you down.