On Easter

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, walked on earth, teaching and healing and demonstrating, for all of us, the essence of real Love. And for this, He was captured, tortured and murdered in the most gruesome fashion imaginable. It was the greatest crime in the history of humanity. The created slaughtered the Creator, and He offered no resistance. But this tragedy led to the ultimate triumph: He rose from the dead, conquered sin and opened up the gates of Heaven.

Before He ascended, He entrusted the Truth of human salvation to a small band of poor, simple, unextraordinary men. He told them to travel throughout the land and preach the Gospel. He promised them persecution, suffering and death, and they received it. He also promised them eternal salvation and happiness, and they received it. The Christians, the converts to Christ, met and worshipped in caves and basements. They were sought and persecuted, a reality they embraced when they accepted His Word. Yet, in the face of incredible odds, in less than 300 years they peacefully conquered the most powerful empire on earth. Soon, Christ’s message would make it to every corner of the world, and it would be the driving force of civilization for two thousand years.

We Christians are soldiers and the war is still raging, and many have died in the flesh, or much worse, in the spirit. Governments and empires of men have tried to exterminate the Truth, but all have failed. Christianity is a religion of peace and love, but it’s also a warrior’s faith. It doesn’t hide us from the pain and suffering that this world has to offer — it commands us to endure it, and in that reality we find the beauty of it all. Easter reminds us that there is an end to the suffering and a purpose in the pain. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He triumphed over evil. And He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

This is what I believe. Hallelujah. Amen.

Happy Easter