SEELE’s faith contributor KB Chakela invites us to embrace a paradigm shift in how we perceive Easter and Resurrection Sunday

So recently, I embarked on a journey into the world of art, specifically pencil drawing. It's been an enlightening experience, to say the least. Just a few weeks ago in my drawing class, we learned a technique that completely shifted my perception of how I see things – quite literally.

This technique, aimed at unlocking the right side of the brain, helps you see lines and shapes in a subject with an artist's eye by drawing objects upside down. It's more than just an exercise in drawing; it's a journey into a whole new way of seeing the world around you. As I delved deeper into this technique, it got me thinking – how do we view the world in our everyday lives? What lenses do we choose to look through?

As March unfolds and we find ourselves immersed in the remembrance of the cross and the resurrection, it's an opportunity to reconsider our perspectives. This year, let's not just go through the motions of commemorating these events. Instead, let's embrace a paradigm shift in how we perceive them.

The Cross of Calvary – that ancient symbol of sacrifice and salvation – holds a profound significance in the Christian faith. But this year I challenge all of us to look at it through different lenses. Yes, it represents the incredible price paid by Jesus for our redemption, a debt we could never repay. Yet, year on year we go through this season and nothing about us or our lives necessarily changes.

Consider this: the same Spirit that breathed life back into Jesus' crucified body is the very Spirit that triumphed over darkness on Calvary. The cross isn't just a symbol of past events, of salvation and redemption, it's a tangible reminder of the victory we have access to in every facet of our lives because of  Jesus Christ's sacrifice.

In Romans 8:11 NIV, Paul reminds us, "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you." This verse encapsulates the transformative power of the resurrection – not just a historical event, but a present reality that reverberates through our lives. But, that same spirit that resurrected Jesus which is now in you, is the same spirit that defeated darkness and the devil and gave me and you victory.

As we meditate on the significance of the cross and the empty tomb, let's allow this truth to infiltrate every area of our lives. Let's exchange our limited perspectives for the expansive lens of God's unwavering love and victory.  Let us look at the cross not just as a symbol of what God did for us (past tense), but let us see it as what God does for us daily.  Daily you are victorious, daily the devil is not over your head, he is under your feet, and daily you are a winner in every area of your life

In Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV, Paul prays, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." May this prayer echo in our hearts as we journey through this season of reflection and renewal.