In Bible study on Friday, we spent the time discussing the centrality of Jesus’ resurrection to everything that we believe. As I have mentioned in the past, for the past few years I have been really wrestling with the way “we” (typical evangelical American Christians) observe Easter. Or don’t observe Easter.

Somehow, Christmas has taken center stage when it comes to religious celebrations. We have emphasized the birth of Christ (or at least our materialistic extravaganza in the name of the birth of Christ) and centered major church, school, and family activities around it – Christmas plays and programs, Christmas parties, Christmas decorations, Christmas services, Christmas music…

But what about Easter? Without the resurrection of Christ, the Apostle Paul said our faith was futile! The coming of Christ was obviously important, but the reason it was important was because of His death and
resurrection!!

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins… If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 1 Corinthians 15:17, 19

Everything we believe stands or falls on the truth and reality of the resurrection. Without it, Paul says we are still in our sins! And notice – if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men! In other words, if we follow Christianity just because it’s a “good way to live,” or we believe Jesus was simply the model of a good man that we should follow, we are to be pitied more than all men! Why? To sacrifice our life and our desires for no eternal reason, for a myth, means that we are idiots! Simpletons who should be pitied!

It’s all about Easter. The only reason I have hope in this life, the only reason I have been given the opportunity to know my Creator as Savior and Father, the only reason I am confident that my eternity will be spent in His presence and not in torment, the only reason is because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for my sin upon that cross and then conquered sin and death and walked out of His grave the following Sunday!

If this is true, how can we possibly live with the fact that our annual remembrace of this eternity-altering event is buried underneath a cloud of pastel eggs, plastic grass, and bunnies wearing straw hats? Honestly, shouldn’t that make us angry?

Growing up our family never did Easter baskets or egg hunts. I appreciate so much that my parents felt strongly that they needed to keep the focus on Christ. But I do wonder… if we believe that the reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection is completely essential to our faith, shouldn’t we do more than just not celebrate Easter in the way our surrounding culture does? [FYI, I am not anti-Easter baskets and egg hunts. I don't think you're evil if you do them; just understand that I might not join you in planning them!]

This will be the first in a series of several posts – I really have no idea how long we’ll keep talking about this, but it’s simply an overflow of what I’m wrestling through in my own heart and mind. I’m starting to research ideas… and I want to have some discussion about how we can start to change this oversight in our own families, and perhaps in our churches. I also want to look a little bit at how this happened to begin with!

Any thoughts? I would love for you to share some of your ideas and insights on this, and perhaps they will be incorporated into future posts!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!