Sunday is Easter, celebrated in Christianity as the day when Jesus, who had been crucified and buried in a tomb, resurrected from the dead. In traditional Christianity, belief in the events of Easter as described in the Gospels is essential to one’s salvation. John 3:16, along with John 11:25-26 in which Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” are often used to justify the doctrine that one must believe in Jesus as the Lamb of God sacrificed for the sins of the world in order to be “saved” from the eternal fires of hell after death.
The promise of Easter, according to traditional Christian belief, is the gift of eternal life in a place called heaven provided one believes in Jesus as the savior. So, for millions around the world, Easter is a celebration of the promise of eternal life through Jesus’ sacrifice.
We in Unity, also celebrate Easter. We celebrate not because we believe that we are “saved” through Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. We celebrate because when understood metaphysically Easter is a dramatic demonstration of a transformation of consciousness that frees us.
In The Revealing Word, Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore says,
“The belief that Jesus in an outer way atoned for our sins is not salvation. Salvation is based solely on an inner overcoming, a change in consciousness.”
We believe that our master teacher and way shower Jesus exampled for us what is possible when we are released from the bonds of our usual mind-dominated way of being and rise to Christ consciousness.
When Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life…” he was not speaking as the man, Jesus. Instead, he was speaking from the awareness of the Christ. In other words, he was saying that the “I Am” is the resurrection and the life, and when we know that at the depth of being, we know that our true essence is eternal; it does not die.
The promise of Easter is eternal life, but we need not wait until the death of the body to realize it. We can choose to claim it in any moment, “die” to our habitual way of defining ourselves, and be resurrected in new life as one who embodies the Christ consciousness. In that way we inherit the kingdom of heaven, not a place, but a state of conscious awareness of Unity in God and with all creation.
Easter is our opportunity to stand with our brother, Jesus, and state emphatically, “I Am the resurrection and the life” as we claim our divine nature and consciously choose to free ourselves from the tomb of our limited way of thinking and live from the awareness of the Christ.
Happy Resurrection Day!
Possibilities, I love how Easter reminds us of our possibilities. Thank you David.
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