Out here in the wide brown land we call home, Easter often means long weekends, backyard barbies, footy on the telly, and maybe a cheeky chocolate egg or two. It's a time for families, fresh air, and taking a breather from the daily grind. And there's nothing wrong with that. But underneath the sunshine and tradition, there's a deeper story we're at risk of forgetting – one that speaks directly into our lives, our nation, and the troubled times we're living in.
The true meaning of Easter begins not with chocolate or camping trips, but with a Roman cross and a man called Jesus – not just a good bloke or a moral teacher, but the Son of God, sent to save a broken world. Betrayed by His own, condemned by corrupt powers, and crucified outside the city, He carried the weight of our sin – yours, mine, and the whole sorry history of humanity – nailed to that rugged tree. As Isaiah foretold, "He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). In that moment, heaven's justice met heaven's mercy.
But the story didn't end in death.
Three days later, the stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty. And history itself shifted on its axis. "He is not here; He has risen, just as He said" (Matthew 28:6). Not a symbol. Not a myth. A bodily resurrection witnessed by hundreds. Jesus Christ walked out of the grave, alive and glorified. Death was defeated, sin was conquered, and a new kind of freedom was born – the kind no empire or ideology can snuff out.
That's the beating heart of Easter. Not a quaint tradition, but a revolution of hope – and it couldn't come at a better time for a country like ours.
We're living in an era where truth is blurred, where borders – both moral and national – are constantly under siege, and where global elites push a vision of the future that leaves little room for faith, family, or freedom. The same dark forces that tried to silence Christ now try to silence anyone who stands up for what's right. But just as they failed to keep Jesus in the tomb, they won't bury the truth forever.
Jesus didn't rise from the dead to usher in some borderless, rootless New World Order. He came to establish a Kingdom that transcends nations, but never asks us to abandon them. A Kingdom where truth is absolute, family is sacred, and freedom is found not in lawless chaos, but in living under God's rule. As Psalm 33:12 reminds us, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."
For us Aussies, that means standing up for what's always mattered: loyalty, mateship, honesty, and pulling your weight. It means holding the line against the tide of moral confusion, global overreach, and creeping authoritarianism. And it means remembering that we don't fight this battle alone. "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you," writes Paul, "He… will also give life to your mortal bodies" (Romans 8:11). That same resurrection power is alive in every believer, every Church, every home that refuses to bow to the spirit of the age.
Easter is not the end of the story – it's the start of everything. The resurrection wasn't just proof that Jesus was who He said He was. It was a down payment on the future, a call to action, a wake-up call to live with boldness and conviction in a world that desperately needs both.
So as the world drifts further from truth, and as the powerful try to rewrite history, identity, and even faith itself, let us be a people who remember. Let us be a people who stand firm. And let us be a people who proclaim, with unshakable confidence: He is risen – and that changes everything.