What Easter Means to Me

Today is Easter Sunday, and I am having a hard time worshipping. Not because of the virus or lack of tradition. Because of the watered down messages that I hear from so many churches these days. Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus after His death on the cross. It is the whole point of the Christian faith. And yet many churches are afraid to preach that gospel. Why? I heard a message that said that it’s okay to question the resurrection. It further said that the cross is whatever you want it to mean, because it’s all about love. I’m sorry…what??? Jesus died so that Easter could mean whatever we want? If this is what the church is preaching, then what hope does the world have? It hurt my heart to hear that message. Yes, it’s okay to have questions. Of course, God is love. But there can be no Christianity without the cross and the resurrection. I’m sorry, but that is the whole point. You can’t rewrite the gospel so that it better matches your own beliefs and world view. There can be no Easter Sunday without the cross of Good Friday. The cross is violent and ugly, and it asks us to look at our need for a savior. Someone greater than us to do what we cannot. It is a passionate story about a God who loves us so much that he died to defeat sin and death. We were ALWAYS loved. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son.” The gospel is so simple that it’s ridiculous. We only have to believe and accept by faith. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? “Faith is the evidence of things not seen”. We want proof. We want to understand. And we want our questions answered. It doesn’t work that way. If we had all the answers, it wouldn’t be faith. I saw a friend's post on Facebook this morning. She said that the first thing her toddler said when she woke up this morning was, “Jesus is Alive!” Yes, it’s that simple, and that joyous! The faith of a child is what we need. The rational mind can’t comprehend it. We believe by faith. Being a Christian doesn’t mean that you have all the answers. It doesn’t mean all your problems go away. In fact, Jesus tells us that we will have problems in the world. But guess what? He has overcome the world. He also tells us that He will never leave us, AND that He has given us the Holy Spirit to strengthen and empower us. The Holy Spirit is real. I have seen and experienced enough to know that, without a doubt. We have a living God who still moves and performs miracles today. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He did not lose His power somewhere along the way. Yes, I still have doubts and problems. But in the end, I have faith in the One who will see me through. I have an Abba (Daddy) who loves me. This is the Christian faith, and the message that churches need to be preaching to a lost world. This is what I believe. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. I don’t know about you, but I want to be free. Jesus is Alive!