Jesus Christ Is Our Eternal Hope by Cindy Oriol

The holiday of Easter is coming upon us soon. What is the reason we celebrate it? Is it because of the Easter bunny and candy or is it something else?

I remember as a child my mom would buy my sister and me brand new dresses with lots of lace in the front and buttons on the back. Also, white patent leather shoes that fastened across the top to keep them from slipping off our feet. She would pick out a color in our dress and made sure a bonnet with ribbons to tie in the front would match it. My favorite color was pink.

We would get up fairly early in the morning to attend church with our mother. I came from a Catholic background, so we would also attend church on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

On Good Friday, after the priest finished his sermon, one by one the congregation would march to the front of the altar where a statue of Jesus laid upon a wooden cross. We would kiss the feet of Jesus and then the priest would wipe them off so that the next person in line could do the same. This was a way to show our gratitude for what the Lord had done for us.

After church, we went back home. Our father would cook a special breakfast, and as soon as we would open the front door, we could smell the delicious aromas of bacon and scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice, and whatever else he had prepared.

We would no sooner finish our breakfast and it would be time to search for our Easter basket. I loved searching for mine. It was always hidden in a secret place, usually behind a piece of furniture. I remember one time it was hiding in the washing machine. The basket would be full of all kinds of treats—sweet chocolate Easter bunnies, jelly beans, and marsh mellow bunnies. But, my favorite was the colored malted milk ball eggs. The color would rub off onto my lips and I would pretend I was putting on lipstick.

My parents always did the best they could do for us. We did not have money to buy beautiful things or go on an adventurous vacation, but what they gave us was better than any of this. They gave us the agape love that comes from Jesus. As I grew up and became a mother to my two girls, I celebrated Easter the same way. Now that I have shared the most exciting part of the holiday as a child, I will share with you as an adult why I truly celebrate Easter.

When I was twenty-three, I found out that I could have a personal relationship with Jesus. I had a new insight into why we celebrate Him. In the past, I knew Jesus died for my sins, but I did not really comprehend the entire story of this holiday until the year 2009, when I went on a retreat called Faces of Christ.

There my eyes were awakened to the cross, the washing of others’ feet and giving my sins to our Lord. I was so humbled when during one of our ceremonies where we each were given a piece of paper and something to write with. We were told to write down our worst sin and then one by one we would go to the stage where a bare cross lay. We grabbed a hammer and a nail and nailed our sins to the cross.

The next day, on Friday, we went back to that same room. As I was glancing at the cross, I noticed something different: everyone’s sins were absent. Jesus had washed away our sins just as He had done thousands of years ago on Calvary. Once again, I had lost my sense of emotion and started crying my eyes out. The retreat opened my eyes to look and learn why Jesus had died for my sins and the sins of others.

When you hear the name of Jesus, what words come to your mind? I think of Alpha and Omega - the Beginning and End, Prince of Peace, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Bread of Life, Messiah, and so many other beautiful names. Other words and phrases are very harsh when related to Jesus. For example: crucified, tortured, the blood of the lamb, wreath of thorns, spit upon, mocking Him and several others.

Several years ago, the movie THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST was made. It starred Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Christ. Mel Gibson was the Academy Award-winning director. When I went to see it for the first time, I was so full of several emotions: sorrowfulness, happiness, anger, and guilt.

To see how Christ was flogged with whips containing sharp pieces of metal that penetrated through His body as His blood poured out onto the ground was so devastating to watch. I started pulling at my chest, hyperventilating, screaming, and crying my eyes out. There was a part in the movie where Jesus is carrying His extremely heavy cross through the streets to reach the designation of Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). He stumbles and falls to the ground and sees Mary, His mother, and tells her, as He is getting up with the weight of the cross baring down into His back and shoulder blades, “Look, mother, I make all things new.”

Once again I was so torn up inside, but the part in the movie that really got to me was when Jesus laid on the cross to be crucified for our sins and the Roman soldiers drove long spikes into His hands and feet. Jesus did not have to suffer like that. He chose to so He could take away our sins. But, Hallelujah, He rose from the grave three days later and because of Him, we as believers have been redeemed.

Jesus is coming back to take us to heaven, where we will live in eternity with Him. In Revelation 22:7 (NKJV), Jesus tells us, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 KJV)

In Christian Love,

Cindy Oriol

Cindy Oriol is the author of “IF ONLY” and “ HAVING JOY IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM.” They were written by the Holy Spirit and me to encourage anyone that is going through a storm in their life. No matter how many storms we have to endure as long as we hold tight to Jesus we can make it through anything.