East Leake Evangelical Church

East Leake, South Nottinghamshire

The State of Our Nation: 04/04

EASTER, ELECTIONS & THE ECONOMY

As we approach Easter one thing is very clear – most people in the UK will not be going to Church, and for a huge percentage of the population the season has no meaning except a welcome few days’ holiday. If we are to take notice of the BBC then the appearance of the new Dr. Who is an event of much greater significance. What will be concerning people at this time is the forthcoming Election (the Prime Minister is expected to announce the date next Wednesday), and the state of the Economy.

It is very important that the whole population takes an interest in the Election. Who governs the nation is an important matter. There may seem to be little choice to you and that is a familiar complaint. Nevertheless there is a choice and that is something to be very thankful for and to value highly. Similarly, the state of the Economy affects every family. It is claimed that we are coming out of the recession and if so we should be thankful. But any recovery is very perilous and if things go wrong then the horrors of unemployment and financial difficulties will face a lot of our fellow citizens, and possibly some of us as well.

Is Easter in the same category as the Election and the Economy? Most people in our culture would answer the question negatively. The popular view would generally be, “Easter is just about religion and has nothing to do with the real world.” But that view is based on prejudice rather than facts. These two events, which are really part of the same single great event, are extremely well verified historical happenings.

A recent book by Cole Moreton, “Is God Still An Englishman? How we Lost our Faith” argues that traditional religion is being replaced in the nation by different forms of spirituality, and that this is the reason people dismiss Easter as an event of any great significance, beyond a welcome break. But what is often called “spirituality” is generally an extension of the physical – it is about the aesthetic and mystical – some sense of the divine. True religion, the reality of God in this world and in our lives, can only be found in and through Jesus Christ, and that is what Easter is all about. God may only be known through Jesus (as He said in John 14:6) and we may only know Jesus Christ when we relate to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

For our culture, however, this presents a series of problems.

  1. Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection gives a different perspective on life.

    It was God who ordained that Jesus should die and it was God who raised Jesus from the dead. This is the supreme God-event – the climactic event of history. All history before it prepared for this and all history since has been radically affected by it. God is and He is all-powerful. Life and death are in His hands alone. We are not the masters of our own fate. We all are answerable to God Himself. Our lives are not therefore isolated events and we are not autonomous beings.
  2. Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection gives a different perspective on the nature of man.

    The question that arises is why God ordered this great event. The answer has to do with what mankind is like and what we all need. The cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ shows that there is a major problem with man. Jesus was both God and man, and He died and rose again for our sakes. That tells us the greatness of our predicament as those who have broken God’s laws. God is just, and so any breach of the law must be punished. That punishment is as great as God and His law. Without Jesus Christ we are in the deepest trouble.
  3.  Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection gives a different perspective on the concept of time.

    The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrate Him to be exactly who He claimed to be – the eternal Son of God. This glorious event shows that there really is a life beyond this life. Time is what we live in. But beyond and outside time is eternity. That is God’s domain. Time will not last forever, but as beings made in the image of God we will. So our time should be used wisely, and especially to prepare for eternity. Now is not everything.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ challenges our basic assumptions and presuppositions in every area of life and being. It says that God is the ultimate point of reference. To many people that is unacceptable; not because it’s not true, but because it’s not convenient. It is just too radical.

So here is the reality of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; an event of the greatest consequence that took place in time and space; history’s pivotal moment that all people must take notice of. In twenty years the election will just be part of the on-going history of politics in Britain. The Economy will no doubt rise and fall and our current situation will be part of the development of the life of the nation. They will be past and they will have little bearing on how we live in 2030. But Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus, will remain the one event that we all have to relate to, either in faith and joy or in disregard and sorrow. So important is this that Christians must apply themselves to proclaiming the fact and meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It will challenge and disturb people. But it remains the only true beacon of hope in our dark and sad world.