Jesus Won

Kids have an uncanny ability to bring God’s Truth to light. And God is always faithful to answer a prayer that pleases His heart.

The two mixed together are a potent spiritual blessing.

Recently I prayed that God would provide opportunity to talk with our boys about Easter and what it means. No sugar-coating, no happy talk. The awful, beautiful truth. The physical pain Jesus suffered, the betrayal by those who claimed to love Him, and most importantly the terrible separation from God He experienced because of our sin.

 On Good Friday, God answered the prayer of my heart. All day I was overwhelmed with the blessing of talking about Jesus with my kids as they asked question after question about Easter and its meaning. We read from the Bible and continued an ongoing dialogue that touched my heart and far surpassed my meager prayer.

 At some point on Good Friday, Cole asked a powerful question, and his question reminded me why. Why the pain, why the betrayal, why the separation between Loving Creator and Perfect Son. 

“In the end, what if there are more people who don’t know Jesus than do? Does that mean the Devil wins?”

I was momentarily speechless.

“Who wins the battle then?” Cole pressed, worry evident in his tone.

Little boys think in terms of battles and numbers, wins and losses, points and ties. I prayed for wisdom, and the Holy Spirit softly reminded me.

The battle is won. It is finished, through Him.

My soul softened and warmed at the beautiful reminder of victory. Jesus’ victory.

Luke 24:6 says of Jesus in the tomb, “He is not here, but is risen!”

I explained to Cole that Easter is a celebration of Jesus’ victory. When our Savior took on the sin of the world and separated Himself from His Heavenly Father by dying and taking our place in Hell, He won the battle for us. It’s a battle for life or death, and Jesus won.

Jesus won!

“Jesus won the battle, honey. The devil already lost. When we have faith in Jesus, we become part of the team that won. God’s team.”

I ran my hand over my son’s newly cut hair, thankful God used Cole to soothe my soul and remind me of this important truth. “And we need to tell people about Jesus, so everyone gets the chance to know Him.”

After all, we still fight for souls in this life – for those who don’t know our beloved Savior. We’re called to show and share His love and His Truth with others. But that pivotal battle between Heaven and Hell, life and death, is won.

Jesus won!

No tomb could hold Jesus down. The Devil’s best weapon – death – had no power over Him.

And that’s why. Why the cross, and why we praise our risen Savior on Easter.

“You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.” Mark 16:6