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Australia has been scarred by fire and flood: families and communities have lost loved ones and friends, and for many people the current economic crisis has hit hard.

While natural tragedy looms large in the public mind, unemployment, bankruptcy and family breakdown have also taken their toll.

When a crisis or tragedy strikes, it feels as though the world has fallen apart, but somehow you know that life must go on. 

At the time of a crisis, there are usually people willing to help, but it is quite different as the days pass; the pain remains, but many expect us then to dust ourselves off and to get on with life again.  Every loss creates a unique pain, which is known only to those who survive and have to face the future… often alone.

In looking to the future, it is hard to imagine how you will ever get through the succession of joyless days to a new beginning. 

Coming to terms with tragedy and grief doesn’t mean we will forget our loved ones or live with scars of disappointment and pain. In one sense, they will always be part of our lives – but we have to continue to live the rest of our lives. 

At Wesley Mission we deal with thousands of people whose lives have been broken by unemployment, crippling debt, suicide, hurtful relationships, drug dependency or mental illness: people who have suffered much in the trials of life. We care for these people because we know that God loves us in Jesus Christ: an unconditional love that knows no bounds. It is He who walked this earth and knew what is was to be human and to suffer….

Yet we also know that Jesus Christ broke the bonds of death after terrible suffering. His death on the cross and his rising from the dead three days later brings power and meaning into people’s lives. It is in Jesus Christ that we have the opportunity for a new beginning: a fresh start and a new perspective on life now, and in the future.

By putting our trust in Jesus Christ this Easter we can also look forward to a meaningful life. The Christian faith is not just about getting by.  It is about the offer of a new way of handling life and looking positively into the future.

Take hope through your faith in Jesus Christ, knowing that whatever we have to journey through, we can come to a place where we will be able to look back – not with pain, but with real gratitude for those we have loved – and continue to love. Jesus is with us every step of the way: He simply asks us to trust Him.  Easter was always more than shows, eggs and bunnies – and this year, more than ever, we need to know it.