Have you ever told someone "Merry Christmas," after Christmas? Once and a while I'll do that, and typically the repsonse is nothing too exciting. But every so often you get a strange look, like, "Hey, don't you know Christmas is over?!!" Actually, Christmas Day is the beginning of the Christmas season and for 12 days we celebrate Christ coming into the world.

Easter is the same way. It's seven whole weeks long. Seven weeks of excitement. Seven weeks of joy. Seven weeks of remembering that our Savior is not dead but alive. Seven weeks of wondering what this all means for my life and how it will impact my relationship with God and other people. It's seven weeks of celebration.

The reason for the seven weeks is because Jesus spent seven whole weeks with his disciples before he ascended into heaven. For seven weeks they got to sit with the victorious Jesus, no longer humble, but glowing with victory and power. For seven weeks Jesus helped them understand how the Scriptures had to be fulfilled which spoke about him. For seven weeks Jesus opened their minds.

And it worked. Jesus set those disciples on fire. They went throughout the world sharing the glorious message of a Savior, victorious over sin, death and hell.

That same victory is still setting this world on fire because it's the only message that has any true impact on the lives of people. When we face difficulty, hardship, guilt, shame, loneliness... When "life sucks and then you die" is the only consolation people can give, Jesus confronts that with a new reality: you will not die, but in me you will live. Life has purpose. Life has meaning. Life is alive, because our Jesus is alive.

Happy Easter - for seven whole, glorious, weeks!