READ: 1 PETER 1:1-5, 18-23; ROMANS 3:25-26; REVELATION 1:4-6

Even though I’m in my twenties now, my family still dyes eggs every Easter. It’s a tradition we’ve kept since I was little. In fact, I can’t remember not dying eggs on Easter. And this is just one of the many fun, color-filled traditions I associate with the holiday. We often have egg hunts using bright plastic eggs with colorfully wrapped candy inside. We display pastel-colored décor in our homes and on our lawns, and we even wear colorful clothes on Easter Sunday.

As I think about the colors I typically associate with Easter—light blues, greens, yellows, pinks, and purples—one color I don’t normally associate with Easter is red. It stands in contrast to the pastel colors that we see on eggs, candy wrappers, décor, and clothing.

But the color red is vital to the Easter story. Because without the red blood Jesus shed on the cross for our sins, there would be no reason to celebrate Easter. We can’t truly grasp the significance of what He has given us without remembering what it cost. And so, it’s important to reflect on His sacrifice, to think about the pain He experienced and the blood He lost on the cross. He was willing to go through all of this—for us. Because of His sacrifice, we can be free from the entrapment of sin; and because of His resurrection, we can be free from the fear of death.

The red blood of Christ is the source of our freedom. Because of Jesus’s costly sacrifice, we have the joyful hope of living with Him forever. • Grace McCready

• If Jesus hadn’t given up His life for us on Good Friday, there would be no Resurrection Sunday. How can remembering the price Jesus paid for our sin help us more fully celebrate our forgiveness and new life in Christ? (Find out more about the good news of Jesus on our “Know Jesus” page.)

• Jesus’s blood is hugely important, and it’s talked about time and again in Scripture. If you want to dig deeper, read Acts 20:28; Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 2:14; 9:7–10:29; 12:24; 13:11-12, 20-21; 1 John 1:7; 5:6-8; Revelation 5:9; 7:14; 12:11; 19:13.

For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Romans 3:25-26 (NLT)