Spring is the season of promise. As the snow melts, buds return to branches bare over the winter and crocus blossoms poke through the soil. The promise of spring is bursting forth. There is a longing in the heart for spring and the promise it holds and delivers year after year.

The longing is strong because we live in a world where promises are broken every single day. Employment contracts are broken. A parent fails to show up for a waiting child. International agreements and domestic treaties are ignored when inconvenient or when complacency causes commitments to slide. Promises are broken when a partner walks out on a covenant to always love, always be there.

Promises are broken as people change their minds and desires. Promises are broken when unexpected circumstances arise. We live in a world where broken promises are easily accepted and choosing not to commit is more common than striving to maintain a commitment.

In a world of broken promises, we long for promises we can count on. Promises that are true and dependable. Promises that we can build upon when so much is shifting and uncertain. Promises that will not let us down in our most critical moments.

The Resurrection of Jesus is the greatest promise ever kept. Easter validates that all the promises of God are certain and dependable.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus spoke to his disciples of his death and Resurrection: “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Matthew 16:21).

It was a difficult message to fully comprehend. Yet within the message rests the promise he would fulfil—Jesus would rise from the dead. Could they begin to understand why the Messiah would be handed over to be crucified?

As they gathered, hidden away from view while Jesus lay in a tomb, could they recall the promise he left with them? As the women ran from the empty tomb back to the disciples, they carried with them the message of a promise fulfilled. Jesus had risen from the dead, just as he said.

The Resurrection of Jesus demonstrates that God, who does not change, is faithful to the promises he makes to his people. No circumstance is too unexpected or too great for God to keep his promise. No stone-sealed tomb could hold the risen Jesus.

Jesus not only promised that he would rise from the dead, but he declared, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). As he stood with the grieving sisters of Lazarus, he brought words of comfort and promise that would reach beyond the day’s grief. Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus—in fulfilment of his promise—make the promise of resurrection certain for all who believe. We may still grieve, but not like those without hope, because of this promise.

The Bible is filled with promises from God. Every promise has been validated by the Resurrection of Jesus. The promise of God’s everlasting love. The promise to give hope and a future to people feeling lost and forgotten. The promise to never leave or forsake his followers. The promise to send his Holy Spirit to be our comforter and guide. The promise to hear and answer prayer. The promise of his provision. The promise to forgive. The promise to prepare a place in heaven for those who believe.

In a world of broken promises, the risen Christ calls us to embrace the promises of a faithful God. This Easter, may the message of the empty tomb be reflected through our lives, as people who live with confidence in the promises of God. “The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does”(Psalm 145:13).  

Commissioner Floyd Tidd is the territorial commander of the Canada and Bermuda Territory.

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