Thursday Read: April Ends - Month of Resurrection
The month that began with Holy Wednesday ends in ordinary time. You've walked through the most important week in Christian history - Jesus's betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Easter happened twenty-five days ago. The tomb is still empty. Death remains defeated. Jesus is alive.
Looking back at April, what sticks with you? The dramatic intensity of Holy Week - Palm Sunday's misunderstood coronation, Maundy Thursday's servant leadership, Good Friday's brutal crucifixion, Holy Saturday's waiting, Easter Sunday's triumphant resurrection? Or the quieter days since - the upper room gathering, the Emmaus road encounter, the breakfast on the beach, the Great Commission?
Both matter. The dramatic events prove Jesus conquered death. The ordinary encounters demonstrate he meets us in daily life. Easter validates his claims about himself. The post-resurrection appearances show how he sustains his followers. You need both - the spectacular proof that grounds your faith and the mundane presence that sustains your walk.
April has been month of resurrection - not just commemorating Jesus's resurrection but exploring what resurrection means for how you live. Death is defeated, but you still die. Sin's power is broken, but you still struggle. Satan is conquered, but evil continues. You're living in the "already" (resurrection accomplished) and "not yet" (resurrection not fully realized) simultaneously.
This tension will continue until Jesus returns. You won't escape it in May or any month after. The question is whether you'll learn to live faithfully within the tension - trusting resurrection truth when circumstances suggest death wins, believing sin's power is broken when temptation feels overwhelming, claiming Satan is defeated when evil seems to prevail. Faith means trusting what's true even when it doesn't feel true.
As April ends, resist measuring success by performance. Did you maintain spiritual disciplines consistently? Probably not. Did you experience dramatic spiritual growth? Maybe not. Did you fail more than you succeeded? Likely. But that's not the point. The resurrection doesn't depend on your performance. Christ rose whether you had perfect April or terrible one. His victory isn't contingent on your victories.
What you carry from April into May isn't perfect spiritual performance but deeper trust in resurrection reality. Jesus rose. That's true whether you felt it every day or not. Death is defeated. That's real whether your circumstances reflected it or not. The tomb is empty. That's fact regardless of your emotional experience.
Paul's prayer for the Ephesians captures what April should produce: "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead" (Ephesians 1:18-20).
Resurrection power - the same power that raised Jesus from the dead - is available to you. Not just on Easter Sunday but every day. Not just in extraordinary moments but in ordinary time. Not just when you feel spiritually elevated but when you're discouraged, depleted, and defeated. This is the power working in you, whether you notice it or not.
Tomorrow begins May. Ascension Thursday comes in two weeks (May 14). Pentecost follows ten days later (May 24). The Christian calendar continues moving forward, marking the story of Jesus's work and the Spirit's power. But even without these markers, the truth remains: Jesus rose. Death lost. You're living on the resurrection side of history. That changes everything.
As April ends, thank God that his mercies are new every morning. Thank him that resurrection isn't annual event but daily reality. Thank him that empty tomb twenty-five days ago guarantees your future resurrection. Thank him that the same power that raised Jesus sustains you through ordinary April days and will continue through May.
April ends. Jesus remains risen. Death stays defeated. The tomb continues empty. That's enough for tomorrow.
