SOME people think that Easter is only about the Church. It is not. It is about God and it is about the world and every human being of every race and culture. It is about God’s unconditional love for each one of us whatever the state of our lives. Some people think that the Good News of Easter is only about an historical event some 2000 years ago or that it is only about a future event, what happens when we die. It is not. God wants us to know his love and his presence with us now. The Easter message is that Jesus is alive and with us now.
Some people think that the Christian faith is only about a moral code or only about signing up to a set of beliefs. It is not. It is so much more than this. It is fundamentally about a relationship with God. Jesus speaks words of forgiveness on the cross to the world and to each of us. But love cannot compel love. We can’t order someone to love us. God gives us the freedom to ignore him, reject him or respond to him in faith. But whatever we do, he goes on loving us. It is when we respond to God’s love, when we take that step of faith, that we can discover a new dimension to life and a love that never lets us go.
The love God has for us he wants us to share. This love, is always ‘outward bound’. It is to be given away freely. When we love others, when we serve the needs of others, we ourselves receive so much back. There are so many inspiring examples of love and service all across Warwickshire as people support and help one another and especially those in the greatest need. To be fully human we all need both to love and to be loved, both to serve and to be served. May we grow in that love and service and may we know God’s love for us here and now. Happy Easter!
Bishop of Warwick, the Right Reverend John Stroyan
