The days of salvation (Part 2)

Easter Vigil / Easter Sunday: one of the things that first grabbed my attention and interest in Easter when I came back to the Church fully was the hope it brings. I documented on this blog about my struggles with hope in the years before I really came to know Christ. He is our hope and it really begins with His Resurrection at Easter. And, the biggest hope is with eternal life.

I will write more later about the story of salvation, but the main gist is that the gates of Heaven were closed before Christ. No one entered eternal life in Heaven B.C. Christ came to save us and to open the gates of Heaven. This happened specifically when He died and rose from the dead. That is the (3 day) event of our salvation. His death and resurrection gives us the hope of eternal life!

But, put yourself in the shoes of his disciples and friends the three days He was dead. They were experiencing unbelievable grief, not just for their perfect teacher and friend, but also for the One they thought was the Messiah. They witnessed his brutal death, and assumed that he was just like anyone else who lived and died. Their hope died on Good Friday.

But, it was literally resurrected when He came out of the tomb. Among all of the incredible and beautiful things that the Resurrection of Christ brings - that He is, in fact, the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, and our Savior - the hope of eternal life is at the top. His Resurrection means that the gates of Heaven have now opened and we can enter eternal life. We celebrate so much on Easter, but we should especially rejoice that we have a chance to get to Heaven in Christ!