Easter is Newness

As we approach this Easter week (see last two posts) I’m going to ask a strange thing of you—forget everything you already know about The Savior and pretend you are learning about Him for the very first time. Empty your mind and let everything we talk about this Easter week be new to you. 

There are several reasons why this is a powerful approach. First, since we were small children we have been learning about Jesus Christ so that what we now believe about Him is a composite of years and years of accumulated knowledge; some of that knowledge is accurate and some not. But the inaccurate is not necessarily the problem. Often the accurate is the problem because we have heard it so much and so often we don’t REALLY hear it any more. The words pass through our minds but we don’t think about what they mean or feel them deep in our hearts because they are too familiar to us.

Second, when you read or listen with an empty mind you hear old things in new ways. You will understand differently. Insights will come to fill the places you have emptied in your head.

And third, when you listen with an empty mind you are more open to learning with not just your mind but also your heart. Too often our mind actually gets in the way of learning because it starts shouting “But” or “If only” or “That can’t be” and the shouting that goes on keeps us from hearing the whisperings of the heart.

Paul teaches, “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17).

Easter is the season of newness and the greatest gift you can give to yourself this season is to partake of the newness. So empty your mind and begin this adventure by simply savoring the thought that Jesus Christ makes all things new—even you.