Easter - God's Extreme Makeover

A relevant look at God's plan of salvation

Easter �" God’s Extreme Makeover

Extreme Makeover Home Edition has been a very popular reality show for many years. For those who may be unfamiliar with it, the show features a home design team with Ty Pennington as the team leader. Families send in application videos and those who are chosen receive a fabulous new home. The show begins with the team watching the winning video which chronicles a family’s struggle with health issues and various hardships. The team bus pulls up at the family’s crumbling home and the design team sneaks out onto the lawn. Ty Pennington then shouts into the megaphone, “Good Morning So and So family!” From that moment on, life will never be the same for that lucky family.

Easter is God’s extreme makeover for the human race. In the beginning, God created a man, a woman and a beautiful garden where they could live in perfect harmony with Him and each other. However, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and brought suffering, discord, death and disaster to the entire human family.

In the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show, families often tell how they have tried to make repairs to their dilapidated homes, but it has only made it worse. In the Bible we read how God gave His law to Moses, but instead of making things better, it made things worse. God’s law cannot fix our sin problem; it only reveals how bad it really is. In the book of James, we read that the law is a mirror which shows just how far short we have fallen from God’s perfect standard of holiness.

In the television show, the team demolishes the old house and builds a brand new one. In the Bible we read, “What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life has gone. A new life has begun!” (II Cor. 5:17 NLT) Jesus demolished the old way of relating to God through the law when He died on the cross. He took the punishment that we deserve because of our sins.

Just as when the bus moves on the show and reveals the new house, the stone rolled away from Jesus’ tomb. He was raised from the dead and He revealed a brand new way for us to relate to God. Listen to what is written in the Bible, “But now God has shown us a different way of being right in His sight �" not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we can all be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.” (Romans 3:21-22 NLT)

Move that bus! Start your brand new life today! Just as the family in the show couldn’t earn a brand new house, we can’t earn our new life in Christ. All we have to do is believe God and receive our new lives in Christ. This is what Easter means for all of us.

Reviews

[Rae Emeral]

Okay, all I can even say to this is wow. This is absolutely amazing! I couldn't pass up on this when I read the title. You're comparisons are so true and I had never ever thought about it in this way before. It's worded simply, but still powerfully. It's short, yet covers multiple comparisons. I also love that used Scripture to back up your points. Wonderful. I look forward to reading more of your work. :) Great write.
~Rae Emeral