What is the Purpose of Easter?

Nobody appreciates spring like Wisconsin folks. Compared to two feet of snow in the January freeze, a warm May breeze across the lake {thawed at last} is practically heaven on earth.

Where I live, snow still accumulates in April. Around Easter time each year, it’s not unusual to get a 60-degree day followed by an ice storm. That’s just the cruelty of homesteading in the north. We endure our winters with resilience and resignation—but we don’t necessarily enjoy them.

Which is why, on an unseasonable spring-tease day recently when my daughter asked me, “Mom, would you rather have 70-degree days all year round?”—my own answer surprised me.

“No,” I said. “I wouldn’t.”

“Really?” She crinkled her nose. “Why?”

“Because, my love. When we experience the cold of winter, our eyes are opened to the beauty of spring. Sunshine is so much sweeter when you know what it’s like to live in the dark.”

Now isn’t that an analogy for the Christian life.

God allows winter in all of us. Those seasons when our circumstances turn chilly and dim, when we look out the window and see nothing but problems piling on top of problems, too heavy to shovel out. Call it what you know—a health crisis, marriage trouble, prodigal kids, financial ruin—there are as many problems as there are people on earth. And when we enter them, our hearts turn up their collars and brace against the cold.

Yet the truth about God is that He always brings the sun. It’s built into the rhythms of His universe. Night turns back to day, winter turns back to spring, and mourning turns to dancing, so the Bible says. Aren’t we more grateful for joy when we compare it to our grief?

I’ve sometimes wondered why God allows pain in our life’s journey if His plan is to eventually lead us back to restoration. Couldn’t we just make a beeline from one joy to the next? One summer to the next? Perpetual 70 degree days, stretched out end to end?

Skip the suffering, right? That would be so nice.

But then I remember life’s journey is just that—a journey, not a destination. And sometimes God allows suffering as a companion in order to teach us something, show us something, help us reach a conclusion we might not otherwise have discovered in the absence of pain.

That’s what Easter is all about.

Jesus suffered such unimaginable pain on the cross. Yet because of His wounds, we are free.

We can trust God knows what He’s doing, even in the darkness.

Especially in the darkness.

Jesus is the reward worth every winter. He is the Easter of our souls.

He always redeems. And when we rise to celebrate His resurrection every year, I’m reminded once again:

God’s mighty work is so much more glorious for all the brokenness He brings us through.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Becky Kopitzke is the author of three traditionally published books including her latest release, The Cranky Mom Fix: Get a Happier, More Peaceful Home by Slaying the “Momster” in All of Us. She is also the co-founder of Ministry to Business, a company dedicated to coaching Christian writers, speakers, podcasters and creators to sustain their ministries through God-honoring business practices. As a writer, dreamer, believer and family cheerleader, Becky is on a mission to encourage and equip women to be kind to themselves and others in Jesus’ name. She and her husband Chad both work from home in northeast Wisconsin, where they share precious space with two beautiful daughters and the family’s two fluffy pups, Prophet and Bodie. Beyond work and family, Becky is actively involved at her church, where she leads women’s Bible studies, sings on the worship team, and is a regularly featured speaker for special events. Find Becky online at beckykopitzke.com.