Why Jesus and You Can Walk Out of Your Tomb of Lies this Easter

This is Easter week, a.k.a. Resurrection Sunday. This is the single greatest, most significant event in human history. When Jesus rose from the dead, he shattered it all. One thing all the different human systems of morality, government, and ethics absolutely agree on is that once you die, you’re supposed to stay dead. Period. That’s the way it works.

Until now. Jesus shattered it all. And if death is no longer absolute, then everything else is up for grabs.

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Do you know the old Hans Christian Anderson fable of The Emperor’s New Clothes? If not, here’s a fun link to the Danny Kaye version.

The gist of the story is these two crooked tailors pretend to bring the Emperor a new set of clothes. They pretend to hold them so the Emperor and his court can see how beautiful they are, but their hands are really empty. They tell the Emperor’s court these clothes are magical: only intelligent people who aren’t fools can see them. The Emperor, not wanting to appear foolish, pretends he can see them and goes on and on about how beautiful they are. All the courtiers, taking their cue from the Emperor and not wanting to appear foolish in front of their peers, also pretend to see them and to be impressed by their beauty.

The deception feeds on itself and the Emperor schedules a parade through the capital streets to show off his new magical and beautiful clothes. Word has spread so everyone knows what they’re supposed to see. Not wanting to be the only one in the kingdom to appear foolish, all the adults marvel at the beauty of the Emperor’s new clothes. But none of them could actually see them, because in reality they weren’t there.

Except for one little boy who didn’t get the memo and didn’t know what he was supposed to see. When the parade passed him, he cried out in shock and surprise, “The emperor’s in the all-together naked!” And he couldn’t help but start laughing hysterically.

Real laughter, especially when you’re trying to not laugh, is contagious. The people around the little boy suddenly realized the ridiculousness of it all and started laughing also. And the laughter spread until the whole crowd was laughing at the naked Emperor who suddenly realized what an idiot he was being, and how he’d been taken advantage of.

For their sakes, I hope the two crooked tailors had made the country’s border by then!

Jesus is like that. He laughs at the world’s systems and shatters all the lies that keep us bound. All the lies we grew up with, that we take for granted, fall at the foot of the cross. Jesus wants to bring them crashing down. Jesus disrupts the status quo.

“That’s Just the Way I Am”

What lie in your life is keeping you bound? Jesus wants to shatter it. The problem is that the nature of being deceived by a lie is that you don’t know you’re deceived. So how do you know what lie is keeping you bound?

We’ve found a good litmus test is, “that’s just the way I am.” If you think that about some area of your life, you’re probably believing a lie.

“I’ll always be overweight. I’m just big-boned.” Actually, your family lied to you. Unintentionally, but they did. There’s no such thing as “big-boned.” You can choose to lose weight. Jesus died to make it possible.

“I’ll never be smart enough to amount to anything.” Who rooted those lies deep in your heart? They aren’t true. I’m writing about in the plural here because there are multiple lies in there:

• “I’ll never be smart.” That’s not true. You can choose to be as smart as you want to be. Jesus died to make it possible.
• “You have to be smart to amount to anything.” Not! You already amount to something. He loves you the way you are. You don’t have to change to be loved. But when you realize how deeply you’re loved, you’ll want to change.

Look, you don’t need to be smarter, stronger, thinner, prettier, taller, shorter, holier or anything else for God to love you. Jesus already infinitely loves you.

There is no circumstance, addiction, or problem you have that does not have to bow its knee to King Jesus, if you command it to. Eventually. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. And you may not see fruit right away. That’s ok. Keep fighting.

People with deep wounds who have been abused by this world, perhaps sexually or by abortion, often suffer from depression and think “it’s always going to be this way.” It’s not. Either in this world or the next, God will make it right.

Some people get healed instantly, but for others it’s a longer road. If you’re on the long road, know that there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re not a “bad Christian.” It just means that God, in his mercy and great love for you, is healing you one season at a time. Bringing it all at once is sometimes more than we can handle.

The key question to ask is, “God, what are you doing in me this season?” Or, to put it another way, “Jesus, who do you want to be for me in this season?”

Although phrased differently, those two questions are really the same. Because every season of healing involves discovering God in a new way, experiencing a part of his character, his being, we haven’t experienced before.

God has a calling for you that you’re perfect for.

The enemy of our soul has used the pain in your life to set up structures of lies in your heart, to keep you from ever knowing who you really are. Jesus died to take that house of cards down. And powerful as those strongholds are, they are nothing but a house of cards before the blood of Jesus.

That’s what Easter, Resurrection Sunday, is all about. What lies are keeping you in a tomb? Jesus died to break them. Do you think you deserve to suffer because of what you’ve done in your past? That you don’t deserve better? Jesus died to erase your past.

You can come out of the tomb of your past, your bondage, all the lies holding you back, today with Jesus. Jesus wants to raise you to a new life and a new hope with him. It may not be a quick fix. It may be a long road. But it’s a road lined with hope.

Here’s a sample prayer to start on the first day of the rest of your exciting life. Use this as a guide and make it your own.

Jesus, who do you want to be for me today? Today I stop this habitual sin. Nail it to your cross. Give me your power to live without it. Show me the lies I believe, and the pain in my heart I was using my sin to medicate. I give you permission to replace my lies with your truth, all at once or one at a time, however you know is best for me. I trust you. Walk with me out of this tomb of lies into the exciting future and calling you have for me.

How about You?

What lies has Jesus set you free from? Are there some you’re still struggling with? Share your story in the comments. You’re not the only one. Your story will help others. And please share this post if it would bless others.