More Than a Catchy Napkin Phrase

I have a confession: I'm not a big hymn person. I know, I know, I'm a pastor's kid. In fact, I'm not just a pastor's kid, I'm fourth generation Free Methodist, and I'm following my great grandpa's, grandpa's and dad's footsteps in entering the ministry. Hymns should be my personal soundtrack. There's just one problem: my mom used them to put me to sleep when I was little. This means that one verse of "Blessed Assurance," and I'm ready for a nap. 

Now that I've been open and honest about my sleepy relationship with the hymnal (which I barely know how to use by the way), I will say I do love the words of hymns. 
For instance, tomorrow is Easter and we will undoubtedly sing, "He Lives," in our 8:30 service. It's a powerful song. The one line that I found myself humming this morning says this:

"He lives, He lives, salvation to impart, you ask me how I know He lives, He lives inside my heart."

There is great power in the statement, Jesus lives. Every Easter, people chorus, "He is risen, He is risen indeed." 

"Christ is risen," is the slogan of Easter. I even found napkins that said that on them. While this is good, great in fact, I can't help but wonder if we really take time to think about what it means to say, "Christ is risen." Do we realize that this means that He is alive? He is here. He is working. He is present in our daily lives. 

"Christ is risen," is more than a catchy napkin phrase. It is our reality. 

What I love about the one line in, "He lives," is the defense the writer gives for Jesus' resurrection. He doesn't precede into a scientific or historical debate (granted that would probably sound really strange in a hymn). No, his response is to say that he knows Jesus lives, because Jesus lives in him. His evidence is in his experience. 

That's how we know that Jesus is alive. We experience His presence. 
Today, I experienced God's presence in a mighty way. On the eve of Easter, I felt how alive Jesus is. I saw Him work. I felt His love. Today, I was running around the sanctuary watching kids and their parents decorate cookies, balance plastic eggs on spoons, make resurrection rolls, and so much more! The smiles and laughter were contagious. There was so much joy and love in that church today. And that was only possible because He lives. 

I'll be honest; I lost a lot of sleep this week. I had nightmare after nightmare about this event. I was panicking that something was going to go wrong. But I realized something today; my worries were pointless because Jesus is alive. The point of our "Easter Extravaganza" was not to impress people, or add something fancy to my resume, it was to show people the love of Jesus. 

The love of Jesus was experienced today because He lives. 

Tomorrow people everywhere will sing songs like, "He Lives," maybe they'll even sing the contemporary song, "Because He Lives." Whatever it is, the message will be the same; He is risen, He is risen indeed. My life and experience of His love are all the proof I need, today was just an added reminder that,

Christ is Risen is more than a catchy napkin phrase.