happy easter

"Try as hard as we may for perfection, the net result of our labors is an amazing variety of imperfectness. We are surprised at our own versatility in being able to fail in so many different ways."
- Samuel McChord Crothers -

To those of you who celebrate the resurrection of Christ, Happy Easter. I am surprise, and a bit disappointed, that the more years I celebrate such holidays, the more the "festival" of the event seems to be numbed. Some of that has to do with the distance of the relatives who would travel to throw a huge dinner, some with the more casual society we live in today, or maybe that we take note of so many other events going on around the globe that the holidays just blend in with the rest. This morning the frost must have kept the cute girls out of their spring Easter dresses at church (although, how many of them would have worn one anyway?).

So, at risk of sounding a lot like the daughter of a pastor, here is a summation of what this holiday represents to me:

I may not have such an awe-inspired emotional response as I did as a child, but one thing is certain. The Bible. I have disagreed with plenty of people about the life and death and resurrection of Christ, why we are here and where we go after this, but I find myself at an impasse with these folks only when they do not believe the Bible is Truth. In short, I do. That is my argument.

And, so, believing the Bible is true, then I read and understand that God created the world, sin fell upon every part of it, and God was sad, so he decided to redeem it. To redeem something means that you cash something in, or exchange it for what you want; like bringing a coupon to the grocery store for edamame, a box of Good Earth Tea, or sushi rolls, or trading a Starbucks grande almond, 1/2 fat, no whip mocha for a toasted tomato, cheese and avocado sandwich on wheat bread at lunchtime (there's a price or trade value involved).

It's hard to admit I am imperfect, and need to be saved. However, it doesn't take much research for me to dig in the vast vault of my memory and find actions, thoughts, and words that were broken and wrong. In fact, the in the big picture, I'm a burnt crumb of toast off of that sandwich, and God's sacrifice would amount to a dozen venti mochas made from a Starbucks he bought and built on the coffee plantation in Sumatra, where the beans are organically shade-grown, and he had to buy a plane fare just to get there to purchase the drinks). I challenge anyone to admit they don't have (a lot of) actions they regret, or have never hurt anyone they cared about. We need a Redeemer to exchange our sin for us, or this sin will rot our soul.

It's God's sadness, and our recognition of our personal sin that bring us both to the cross. God seeks to re-perfect his creation, and communicate with us, while we seek the bargain for our sins and a promise of life with God. This is the place (a physical and historical place in Israel), and a deeply spiritual place (in our heart and soul) where, after God allowed his Son to be raised up in perfection, and murdered by the very sinful people just like me who he intended to save. On that day, Christ died to put to death the very sin that killed him. He also died to put every other sin to death so that our spirits may live on.

But, it wouldn't be complete if Jesus stayed in the grave. But, he didn't. How would he be able to defeat sin, if he let the murderous sinfulness defeat him? In fact, people saw him, talked to him in unbelief. And, then, when their lives and comforts were put in jeopardy, they still defended what they had seen and heard. Christ came alive again to give us hope. This hope is that, although we live in a world cursed by sin, God's Creation is redeemable. It can come back to life, just like we will live on after our physical death with God.

Now, sometimes I think this is fantastical and unbelievable. Well, it really is quite spectacular. But, even when my mind cannot fathom the spiritual and emotional side of my faith, I still hold to the evident Truth of The Bible.

Even if it "might" be true, isn't it worth investing some time into? If all it takes is an understanding, a belief, that Christ died so you could live, wouldn't you investigate, and find out more?

A Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. It's a good read over your next Starbucks coffee, or Good Earth tea, or that toasted tomato, cheese, and avacado sandwich.