Happy Palm Sunday! This week leading up to Easter is my favorite time of the year (even more so than my birthday, which is a lot). I’ve been asked: is it because of the bunnies? Or the Easter eggs? Or the chocolate?

Well, not quite.

Easter is my favorite time of the year because of one main reason: the sheer hope that it represents for us all. Maybe it seems trivial, but hope? That’s a priceless gift that’s worth getting excited about, and it’s one I’ve come to treasure greatly over the past couple of years. If anyone’s ever thought about life and what it is we are all here for on this Earth, without hope of any kind, there is literally no reason for life. I mean, if we have nothing to put our hope in, and nothing to hope for, what’s the point? Is the point to just go through the daily metro, boulot, dodo routine of life, die, and be done? Even if we want to be noble and say, “Well, I want to leave a legacy behind” or “I want to make an impact on this world through some good deeds,” what is the point if there is no hope of that legacy or those deeds meaning something beyond this finite world? In my eyes, there would be no point.

We’re all searching for something to inject meaning into our lives. Different people seem to find that meaning through various avenues, but for me, the absolute best way I’ve found purpose for my life is through the unending hope that comes from Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Because of my salvation through Christ, I have hope of an eternal life beyond my present one, and all the Earthly work for Christ and His kingdom are building blocks for those glorious future days. That’s what Easter’s about, which is why I love it: it’s about remembering and being thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and celebrating His resurrection, which brought the free gift of salvation – and consequentially, hope – into the world.

A few months ago, I stumbled across a random article online chronicling the tragic journey of a young man who traveled all the way to the Amazonian jungle to try a psychedelic drug called ayahuasca. Why?
He was a triplet who felt inadequate in his life choices in comparison to his “overachieving” siblings. He was hoping that trying this drug at a special shaman center in Peru would help to “turn his life around” through a “spiritual transformation.” Instead, he unfortunately took the drug and died, presumably from taking too much of the substance. When I first read the story, I was just incredibly sad. Here was this young person, searching for meaning in his life, and hoping to find it anywhere that seemed promising. But the truth is that nothing in this world – no physical, mental, or emotional thing – will ever satisfy like Jesus can and does.

I think to myself sometimes, How many of my friends are also searching for some meaning to their lives? Have I pulled their views from looking to the left and right, and pointed them upwards?

And this is where the hope of Easter comes in. This Palm Sunday, and the rest of Holy Week, I want to be constantly reminded of this gracious, joyful, awe-inspiring hope we have in Jesus. This is a hope that is unprecedented and unparalleled by any other worldly thing. This is a hope that so many people search for, without even realizing it’s their hearts’ desire. This is a hope that I pray becomes known by more and more souls this Easter. This hope is life-changing. And this hope brings new life to a world that desperately needs it.