Easter, the reason I have real hope

I'm getting closer to six full decades of life and there's one important lesson I've learned.

I've looked to the church and then to Jesus Christ for peace and hope and I found myself never quite being able to grab onto the "gold ring."  I had it backwards.

The hope comes from Jesus Christ and his coming to earth, his dying on the cross and his resurrection which we will celebrate on Easter Day.  Real hope comes from a personal relationship with him.  It doesn't come from the church.  It comes from Jesus directly to me. 

Now, the church is important, but Jesus is most important.  This morning, I ran across some audio clips from Billy Graham where he explains this in a very clear way.  I learned this before.  But, I need to be reminded of it and I need to celebrate it.  I'm looking forward to Easter this year more so than in past years.

If I put my faith in the church, then I'll be consistently disappointed.  But, if I put my faith in Jesus, then I'll never be disappointed--for eternity.