This morning I overslept. I woke up about 6:30 and saw the light coming through my window. I knew I had overslept because I was supposed to be up before daybreak. I don't know exactly how it happened, but somehow the alarm did not wake me up. If you've heard my alarm, that will amaze you. It's really, really loud.
Not to minimize the importance of anything else in my life, but I hated oversleeping today more than any other day of the year. Every year I look forward to the Easter sunrise service. There's something about being outdoors with other Christ-followers to help me focus on the anticipation of what happened at sunrise some 2,000 years ago. I can almost visualize it as the service begins, and I never miss it. Never. Well. now I guess it's almost never.
I had a great Easter anyway. Two great worship services beginning at 8:00. A wonderful lunch with my family and hanging out with them most of the afternoon. Even the 21st century addition of rejoicing in the Good News with my friends online. But I still hate, hate hate that I missed worshipping at sunrise.
I am just so glad that I only missed a worship service. For it would be so easy to miss the Resurrection itself. To live my life in such a way that it doesn't even matter that Jesus rose from the dead. For if he did indeed rise from the dead, that changes everything! I can laugh at death. I am free from the chains of fear, sin, death, money, power, and broken relationships.
You may not have been at a sunrise service this morning. Odds are, you didn't even plan to. But regardless, I encourage you - miss a service, but don't miss the life changing power of the Resurrection.
It makes all the difference.
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