Easter And The Cross: Relationship, Not Religion

Easter can feel like a swirl of sweet traditions, packed pews, and a quick nod toward faith. But what if you’ve been around church your whole life and still don’t have the one thing Christianity is actually about: a saving relationship with Jesus Christ? I’m Constance Lavonice, and I’m sharing a personal, plainspoken reflection on Resurrection Sunday that cuts through religion and gets honest about God's grace. 

I walk through my own story of growing up in the South, learning Scripture, serving at church, and sincerely trying to live a moral life yet eventually realizing I was trusting my good works instead of trusting Jesus. We talk about what the Bible says about sin, why sin separates us from a holy God, and why “being a good person” can’t fix a spiritual problem. You’ll hear the gospel explained clearly, anchored in Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23, and why salvation is a free gift, not something we earn. 

Then we turn to what changes when you truly surrender to Christ: a new heart, a new way of speaking, deeper love for people, and guidance from the Holy Spirit. If you’ve been curious about Jesus, stuck in rules and pressure, or wondering whether you’re relying on religion instead of relationship, you’ll get a simple next step: repent, believe, and receive. If this speaks to you, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more women can find biblical encouragement for whole heart resilience.

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Transcript

Easter And What It Means

Constance Lavonice 0:00

It is almost Easter, and Easter is a Christian holiday that's celebrated all over the world. Here in the United States, people celebrate with the Easter bunny, Easter eggs, Easter candy, Easter baskets, new outfits, and it's a time where people who normally don't attend church will attend church that one time of the year. For Christians, it's a time to remember and to reflect on Jesus' death, burial, and specifically his resurrection. And for me, it's a time to reflect on my salvation through a personal relationship with Christ. You're listening to Whole Heart Conversations, a podcast for women that provides biblical encouragement to foster whole heart, spirit, soul, and body resilience. I'm your host, Constance Lavonice. I grew up in the southern part of the United States. And in the South, many people identify as Christian. I grew up going to church. My mother loved the Lord. We had family prayer every Sunday. We memorized Bible verses. We attended church each Sunday. I volunteered. I attended all of the programs. I taught Sunday school and I loved Jesus. I identified myself as a Christian, but I realized as an adult, I didn't have a saving relationship with Jesus. I was trusting in my own good works, going to church, trying to live a moral life, praying, reading my Bible sometimes, and just trying to be a good moral person. There was no noticeable difference between me as a Christian and a person who was not a Christian. I thought that just because I grew up in the church and my parents went to church, and my mother's father was a pastor, and my daddy's father was a pastor, and I read my Bible, and I said my prayers, and I volunteered, and I did the things that I thought would be pleasing to God, that I was saved, and that I had a relationship with Jesus Christ, a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. But I didn't. And because, oh, my parents love the Lord, oh, and my grandparents loved the Lord, and they actually served you, Lord, as pastors. It's not about that. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. Romans 3 23. We have a sin nature since the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned. We have been separated spiritually from God. And because of our sin, and sin is anything that's contrary to God's word, we can sin in our thoughts, in our words, and in our deeds. We can sin by commission, the things that we do, and by omission, the things that we know to do, but we fail to do it. And because we have a sin nature, and God is a holy God who requires perfection, and being a holy God, he doesn't dwell in or around sin. And because he's a holy God, he must punish sin. Romans 6 23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God sent his Son Jesus, the infinite God man, the visible manifestation of the invisible God, to die for our sins, past, present, and future, and to reconcile us with God. So it wasn't about me and what I can do, but about what Jesus had already done for me on the cross. And when I came to that knowledge, that it's not my perfection because I can't be perfect. And the Bible tells us that salvation is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. There was nothing that I could do to make myself more favorable in God's eyes. It is all about what God through Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross, that we can come into fellowship with God through a personal relationship with Jesus. And when we have a personal relationship with Jesus for myself, when I entered into a personal relationship with Jesus, everything changed. The way I talked, the way I behaved, how I interacted with people, I was kinder, I was nicer, I had more love for people because God is love. And when God loves you, and when you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you can express that love and consideration to others. You're a different person. It's no longer about religion and trying to win approval through good works, but it's about a relationship with Jesus Christ, a trusting relationship, trusting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. For me, trusting Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and allowing His Holy Spirit that I receive the moment I began to trust Jesus to guide and lead my life so that I'm able to fulfill all of the good works that God has prepared for me to fulfill before I was even born. Jesus said that I have come to give you life and to give you life more abundantly. And true Christianity is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior through his sacrifice on the cross. Easter reminds us of this. Resurrection Sunday is a day that we celebrate the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. And if you've been curious about Jesus or having a relationship or you thought that you were saved, but you are walking in rules and regulations and trying to be good enough, submit to what Christ has already done for you and allow Him to transform your heart and your behaviors and your life. Today is a good day if you haven't already to come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ by repenting, believing, and receiving. Repent of your sins, believe that Christ died for you on the cross for your sins, the past, the present, and the future, and receive Him as your Lord and Savior of your life. And if this message resonated with you, or if it fits your life, let me know. Subscribe, share, and text the show and let me know what's on your heart.