In our culture of social media popularity, where filtered selfies, making a name for yourself, building your platform, becoming a worldwide phenomenon, putting your best foot (or picture) forward, going viral (internet, not Covid-19😉), and getting the most likes, followers, and subscribers you can are so important, it’s hard to believe it’s not about us. 

But it’s not. 

With Easter weekend upon us, the focus needs to be on Jesus and what He did — not the Easter bunny, Easter egg hunts, fancy Easter baskets, the new spring outfit we bought to wear to church on Easter Sunday, or how much candy our kids can accumulate.  

No matter how popular we are, we can never be ‘good’ enough to get into heaven. No matter how much we accomplish, we can never do enough to earn our salvation. On our own, we can never be holy enough, pure enough, or righteous enough to enter into the presence of a perfect God. 

Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast.  Eph 2:9

As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous — not even one.”  Rom 3:10

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  Rom 3:23

Enter Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God. 

On that first Easter almost 2000 years ago, Jesus sacrificed Himself to atone for our sins — willingly, out of love for The Father and for us, He chose to pay our debt. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done, who we’ve done it with, how long we’ve done it, or what we’re likely to do in the future, Jesus paid for it all.

Jesus did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He made a way, through His torturous death on the cross, for us to enter into God’s presence, through prayer in this life, but also for all eternity in heaven. 

It’s our belief in Jesus as the sinless Son of God that determines where we go after we depart from this life. When we accept His gift of salvation, given freely to all, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Jesus enables us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to have a relationship with Him and model our life after His example, making life not about ourselves but about loving and serving others.

So, you see, it’s not about us. 

It’s all about Jesus, the One and Only Son of God, sacrificing Himself to save us. 

It’s about Jesus shedding His blood so we can enter into God’s presence because we’re covered by the righteousness of Christ. 

It’s about Jesus rising from the dead on the third day, conquering death and foiling Satan’s plan.

It’s about God’s love for us, His grace, His mercy, and His plan to redeem us from the very beginning.

And yet, it is about us.

It’s about the fact that we can’t save ourselves, no matter how ‘good’ we are.

It’s about the decision we make to believe in Jesus, or not.

It’s about whether we accept or reject the free gift of salvation offered by Jesus.

It’s about us being covered by the sanctifying blood of Christ so we can enter into the presence of a holy God.

What decision will you make this Easter? Where will your focus be?