Leah shared a devotional on Breakfast, on how the truth of the human problem is a lack of connection to God, and the good news for everyone this Easter.
People of Faith
Leah began by speaking to the people of faith, still looking for meaning and purpose.
“I think most of us in one way or another are still asking those same big questions about meaning and purpose and where do I fit in everything?”
In the Western world, there is less space for God in conversation.
Pressure to Perform
“We’ve become so good at building a life where we don’t need him. Like we’ve got medicine and we’ve got science and we’ve got technology and we can build careers and create our lives and essentially chase our dreams.”
Leah said that at first glance this idea can be liberating.
“I’m in control. Anything is possible and there are no limits. But the reality is if you follow that thought all the way through, this ‘freedom’ actually turns into immense pressure. Pressure to perform and pressure to achieve.”
She said it becomes a sudden realisation that we can’t live up to this standard. It becomes crushing to strive for a goal that is not within our capacity to achieve.
The Hope in Christ
“What I love about Easter,” said Leah, “Is that it speaks right into this because Jesus doesn’t come along and say, hey, you know that unrest in your soul, those little things that you can’t actually silence. Well, hey, here is a list of things that you can do and perform and then boom, you’ll be happy and sorted.”
Jesus didn’t just come as a teacher, prophet or someone to model our lives off – even though he is all of those things.
“He also came as our substitute,” said Leah. “That means that he came and did what you and I can’t actually do, and that is live a perfect life.”
The Truth of the Human Problem
“It isn’t just that we feel insecure and broken,” said Leah, “The root of why we feel insecure and broken is that we’re disconnected from God. We have disconnected ourselves from the very life source.”
Leah said that our denial in needing God causes us to say, “We got this.”
“No, we don’t got this,” retorted Leah.
“Jesus came to save us from ourselves and from our own rebellion, He reunites us back to life, back to God.”
Death Wasn’t The End
“It’s radical,” she continued, “The grave couldn’t hold him. Jesus completely obliterates death. He defeats death.”
She said this matters deeply, because if Jesus really rose from the dead, it means death isn’t the end.
Leah spoke on a personal note, with her own experience grappling with death and the truth of Jesus’ victory in that.
“That means it doesn’t have the final say. That means for me personally, like it means my dad’s sickness, my dad’s infirmity doesn’t get the final say. So even if my dad dies from the sickness, even if he dies with this infirmity, death is not the end for him. He will follow Jesus right out of that grave into resurrection life.”
The Good News
It is available to all of us, and Leah was delighted in that reality. “It is so wild. And all we have to do is put our trust in Jesus, invite him in, receive him. And look, for a species who have 100% certainty of facing death, I’d like to humbly submit that’s something worth pondering.”
Leah redirected the focus back to Easter with the encouragement that we don’t have to be everything.
“You don’t have to do everything. Jesus has come and done it for us. He said, it is finished.”
Check out the full devotional from Leah on Brekky below.