The afterglow of Easter has all but disappeared in the world around us.  The memories contained in that Sunday should’ve filled our hearts and minds with overwhelming gratitude, but instead we heard another story of death and destruction in another part of the world.

How quickly our joy can be tarnished by evil.  We almost become dumbed down by events like the bombings at Sri Lanka.  These every day acts of evil become so common place, we’ve grown to expect them.  Have our minds and hearts witnessed so much evil that we are numb to it?

The day of resurrection means so much to those of us who believe that Jesus rose from death.  He overcame the devil. He limited the time Satan had left and the work he could do.  Jesus made it possible for us to look forward to eternal life in paradise. Because He lives, we know that we will also live with Him some day.

The actions of Satan’s minions are everywhere.  They continue to infest the world, looking to devour us.  Our joy, our hope and our gratitude should not be killed by an incident like this. Death came to those Christians on such a holy day.  Certainly it was a senseless act.  Of course it was perpetrated by an evil force.  The promise of resurrection was fulfilled for them as they died in their faith.  That doesn’t make the act any less horrific for those left behind.

Even in adversity, we should be grateful.  Like Piglet, our hearts may be small, but they can hold a whole lot of gratitude.  The old adage of counting our blessings applies. When our world is caving around us – when the politics of every day consume us – when financial disaster leads to ruin – when relationships fail – when even our lives are threatened by evil – we can be so grateful for what we still have and what is yet to come.

Easter cannot be destroyed by evil.  Easter destroyed evil forever.  He is arisen!  He is risen indeed!!