Hope is such a powerful word. It is the thought that something better is coming, or that troubles will one day be over. It is the feeling of anticipation that comes from not yet seeing or possessing what we hope for, yet it is perhaps a feeling mixed with a lurking anxiety that it may not happen. During the past few days there have been numerous Easter-time messages in the media. Several that I have read or heard, even in the secular media, have picked up the theme of hope from the Christian message of Easter... Hope-inspiring ideas of dawn breaking and night giving way to the light of a new day, or of the prospect of a new start, or of a time coming when tears of loss dissolve into tears of joy, or of fear being driven away seem to particularly resonate at the moment.

The Christian message is certainly one that holds out the prospect of light, life, joy and hope. Yet, it seems not to have occurred to the authors of some of these Easter messages that the fruits of light, life, joy and hope grow on a particular tree and that without the life of the tree there can be no fruit. In other words, if we try to adopt the Easter message as a template for inspiring hope, but do not pay attention to the explanation given as to why the Easter message inspires hope, then we've cut the tree from its roots and there can be none of its fruit. Sadly, this is what has happened in the secularisation of Easter. We try to keep the benefits but do away with the benefactor. Easter without Jesus is a meaningless idea.

Thankfully, we can't actually cut the tree from its roots or do away with the benefactor, because this is God's message. The true significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus stands sure and certain, whatever we may think about it. The Bible explains so clearly that Jesus is the true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by His self-sacrificial death on the cross, in the place of sinful people who deserve only divine judgement. It explains that we have crystal clear proof that God loves the world because He gave His only Son to be that Lamb, the Saviour of sinners, a Saviour who dealt decisively with the cause, namely our sin, of God's anger towards us in our fallen state. It explains to us that we can receive personally this salvation from sin simply by believing in Jesus Christ as our Saviour. It explains to us that when we are saved it is like being born again to a new life, it is to be forgiven and accepted by God, it is to have the prospect of life with God now - and forevermore. The invitation is extended to you to come to Jesus to receive all of this by receiving Him to be your Saviour. This is the message that really does bring light, life, joy and so inspires genuine hope.