Easter and Your New Landlord!

The surprisingly warm temperatures that usher in Spring is a wonderful harbinger of the many exciting days that are to come during April. What are these exciting days you may ask? Well, I have compiled a shortlist. To begin with, there are the final games of college basketball, the Final Four, and the National Championship. Then there is Opening Day of our nation’s pastime, baseball season. For the golf enthusiast, there is the Master’s golf tournament. For those that are missing football season, there is the NFL college draft. Jackie Robinson Day is a day when all the baseball players wear the number 42. Then there is the day I used to look forward to, my birthday. Just a reminder for those that procrastinate, April 15 is national Tax Day. For the young guys and girls, there is the start of Little League Baseball. For the environmentalist, there is Earth Day. In our office, we celebrate national Administrative Professional’s Day. In our office, we DO NOT, however, celebrate the National take your Daughter and Son to Work Day on April 22nd. During this month we stop to remember the importance of understanding Autism, on Autism Awareness Day. And finally, this year we celebrate Easter during April.

I know that of all these special days the one that can confuse many people is Easter. Think about it, there is all this talk of baskets, colored eggs, chocolate bunnies, sacrifice, crucifixion, death, tombs, resurrection, redemption, propitiation, rapture, and eternal life. These can be confusing concepts even for adults. So, to help us with some of these ideas I came up with an illustration in the form of a story. Here is my attempt to help us understand some of the complicated and sometimes confusing concepts of Easter. Let us imagine for the moment that you live in a house for which you pay rent, and you have a long-term agreement with the Landlord. Let us assume for the moment that he has a key to your house and without warning, he will show up unannounced and begin to point out items and issues that you need to clean or repair. During this visit, he then begins to add charges to your rent. He assesses extra fees and demands more money for each of these items that he notices. He may point out that the dishes in the sink have not been washed so he adds more money onto your rent payment. Or your car has not been washed, or the yard needs to be mowed or the trees need trimming. And so, he adds more charges to the rent payment.

Now, you do not have enough money to get out of this long-term agreement and you cannot afford to pay for all the extra fees that he is constantly adding every month. He is just bullying you and you have no recourse. You cannot afford to move away; and so, at present, you are stuck in this dreadful situation. He is just an awful landlord. Then, one day someone comes along and offers to pay all that is needed to get you out of your rental contract. And informs you that they have another place for you to live. It is brand new. You can live there rent-free; all they ask is that you adhere to a few stipulations. Now, this new home is a bigger place than where you live now, and it is newer, and it is just a much better spot to live. At first, you are a little hesitant and you are not sure about the offer. You wonder how this could be true. But after a while, you agree and accept the offer. So, the new Landlord goes through all the legal paperwork to buy out your old rental agreement. He pays it all – in full.

Now, just as you are beginning to settle into your new place something odd happens; your old Landlord shows up at your new home. And he begins to tell you that you need to come back and that he is finding other things that you left undone, that need your attention and that you need to repair. He comes into your new home and wants you to pay him more money. He explains to you that he is going to come there every day until you give in to his request. But, because of Easter all of us have the authority to say to this old Landlord, “I do not owe you anything. Everything that was ever owed to you has been paid. I have a new Landlord and he paid for everything that I ever owed. And I want you to know, I have a new home and a new life and a new way to live. All because of what happened on the cross and the events of Easter morning.”

There may be some confusing words that go with the story of Easter. And there may be some odd traditions that go along with the celebration. But the meaning and the significance of what happened on that day make an everlasting difference in the lives and homes of those who accept the truth of this story. It matters little if you see Christ as your Savior or your New Landlord. What matters most is that you understand that a price was paid that you could not pay. And the One who paid it did so because of His love for you and for each one of us.