Happy Easter

As I am pondering this Easter message, I am hoping this letter finds you safe, loved, and prosperous. I am wishing for you a happy and joyous Easter weekend.

I would like to invite you to take a moment to pause and reflect on a few thoughts about this sacred Easter season. Take a deep breath, slowly release it and rest for a moment in the stillness of renewal.

Good Friday is the day the Christ Jesus relinquished his body. The words to his father, “Into Thy hands, I commend My Spirit,” are powerful and pertinent.  Throughout his life, Jesus was the perfect example of how we too are asked to actively surrender and entrust all that we are to the divine source.

Can we imagine what was going on inside the minds of Jesus’ disciples on the day after his death and before the resurrection … shock, loss, fear, desertion, and aloneness? Have we ever experienced any of these feelings? How natural it is in difficult moments of trial and tribulation to feel let down, alone, and confused.

Yet, the message of Easter offers us hope!

Resurrection means transformation from any lower state of being to a higher one. Jesus, appearing in human form, was also the Son of God. The Easter message invites us to realize we too are divine. This is our highest soul reality; ultimately, this is truth. Jesus reminds us, “Therefore we are to be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect.” We are called to rise up, with Jesus, into the glory and splendor of the resurrection.

We must call on your soul nature to awaken and allow our own ‘resurrection’ to unfold. Walk consciously with Jesus and all the great ones who have shown us the way to live in loving acceptance of each other and in acceptance of all that is.

Have a blessed and happy Easter. It is a glorious time to practice unconditional love, inner peace, and eternal joy.

May our light, the light of Christ, the infinite consciousness, shine brightly in this world!

What does the Bible say about how to find purpose in life?

The Bible is very clear as to what our purpose in life should be. Men in both the Old and New Testaments sought for and discovered life’s purpose. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, discovered the futility of life when it is lived only for this world. He gives these concluding remarks in the book of Ecclesiastes: "Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Solomon says that life is all about honoring God with our thoughts and lives and thus keeping His commandments, for one day we will stand before Him in judgment. Part of our purpose in life is to fear God and obey Him.

Another part of our purpose is to see life on this earth in perspective. Unlike those whose focus is on this life, King David looked for His satisfaction in the time to come. He said, "And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness" (Psalm 17:15). To David, full satisfaction would come on the day when he awoke (in the next life) both beholding God’s face (fellowship with Him) and being like Him (1 John 3:2).

In Psalm 73, Asaph talks about how he was tempted to envy the wicked who seemed to have no cares and built their fortunes upon the backs of those they took advantage of, but then he considered their ultimate end. In contrast to what they sought after, he states in verse 25 what mattered to him: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you" (verse 25). To Asaph, a relationship with God mattered above all else in life. Without that relationship, life has no real purpose.

The apostle Paul talked about all he had achieved religiously before being confronted by the risen Christ, and he concluded that all of it was like a pile of manure compared to the excellence of knowing Christ Jesus. In Philippians 3:9-10, Paul says that he wants nothing more than to know Christ and “be found in Him,” to have His righteousness and to live by faith in Him, even if it meant suffering and dying. Paul’s purpose was knowing Christ, having a righteousness obtained through faith in Him, and living in fellowship with Him, even when that brought on suffering (2 Timothy 3:12). Ultimately, he looked for the time when he would be a part of the "resurrection from the dead."

Our purpose in life, as God originally created man, is 1) glorify God and enjoy fellowship with Him, 2) have good relationships with others, 3) work, and 4) have dominion over the earth. But with man’s fall into sin, fellowship with God is broken, relationships with others are strained, work seems to always be frustrating, and man struggles to maintain any semblance of dominion over nature. Only by restoring fellowship with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, can purpose in life be rediscovered.

The purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We glorify God by fearing and obeying Him, keeping our eyes on our future home in heaven, and knowing Him intimately. We enjoy God by following His purpose for our lives, which enables us to experience true and lasting joy—the abundant life that He desires for us.