When I was a kid in school, the Easter holiday was so much a part of cultural normality that Spring Break was often tied into Easter weekend. Some schools even had "Easter Break." And while I appreciate it when our culture makes it easier to celebrate Christian Holy Days, but in fact, Resurrection Day, as many (including me) prefer to call Easter, is a celebration in truth only for those who have submitted to the risen Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord. Those who reject the gospel have no claim whatsoever to be excited about the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection of Christ is an integral part of the gospel which the unbeliever is actively repudiating by virtue of his continued refusal to submit to Christ in repentance.

It is unfortunate that it has now become common local church practice to turn Resurrection Day into a day to try to make the gospel palatable and easy-to-digest for the unbeliever who is much more likely to visit church that day. If there is any day of the year to proclaim the reality of the gospel—including that future resurrection promise is only for Christians—then Resurrection Day is that day. In our church, we love to have non-believers visit, but our duty is not to make "Easter" accessible to them, but to show them that they are outside of the Holy, outside of the grace of Christ, and that only by turning to Christ for salvation can this "Holy Day" truly belong to them.

May this Holy Week—with Good Friday to remember the death of Christ and Resurrection Day to celebrate the risen Savior—be truly holy to you as a genuine follower of Jesus, the one who was dead and now lives.