Introduction
I didn’t know it, I didn’t know this was going to be my father’s last earthly Easter Day. If I had known I am sure it would have changed the expression of my mind through the written word to him. What would I have said if I had known? I’m not quite sure but I am confident it would have been different.
A little over six months later my father would have an encounter with the risen Christ. This encounter gloriously ushered him into the eternal reality of a new home in Heaven and the experiencing moment by moment a restored life with his victorious Savior. All the corrupting influences and contaminated elements of this earthly life banished for eternity. All the Grand Liar’s devices, the vile degrading strategies he employs to throw endless shame upon us….now gone. What’s left? The experience of being fully loved, fully redeemed, fully whole, full “one” with Father and His beloved Son, moment by moment…for eternity. My mind can scarcely take it in. My father’s hope has now become sight.
What can I learn from this? What expressions of my mind and heart to those I love do I need to revamp? What are the important things that need to be said, not just this Easter Day but every day. Being aware that the only thing I do know with certainty is that life is very uncertain, a certain uncertainty.
Let us all make the thoughts of our minds and the words they create count, day in and day out. Let the uncertainty of life produce words that will bring light and love to those around us.
Happy Easter
This letter was written Easter Day 2019
He is Risen
It is no longer I who live, but Christ in me. Galatians 2:20
Happy Easter Dad!
I like Billy Graham's words, “If Christ is not alive, there is no hope for any of us.”
But He is alive!
Ask a hundred people on the street, ask a thousand even, ask them “is Jesus alive today?” What kind of responses are we going to hear bouncing back? Not ever having done this, I would only presume as to the kind of answers to be heard. The range of comments would be from: “Are you a fool, how could anyone believe such a stupid myth like that? You are an idiot to believe that!” to “Why yes, I do believe, I believe He is alive.” Be assured the vast and great majority of the responses would be an outright refutation of this fact or a weak lukewarm pseudo-belief “I guess so.”
The answer to this question is linked to each and every human to have lived in the past, present and the future. The answer has eternal consequences for all of us.
It takes courage to seek the true answer to this question. Too much hinges on it. Most of the world is distracted by the loud noise of the Grand Liar and the infatuation with Me, Myself and I to take the time to pursue the answer. We as a race tend to deny what we fear the most.
There are great examples of courageous people seeking the answer to the reality of Christ’s resurrection. Who Moved The Stone is a classic. A Case For Christ another prime example of courageous truth seeking. Both men, Albert Ross and Lee Strobel, were non-believing skeptics when they started their (re)search. What was their response to the accurate historical record as to Jesus’ resurrection? Belief. Belief in a risen Christ. Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands A Verdict is also powerful in addressing the skeptical world. Hard to refute historical facts.
Why does it take courage to seek the answer about Jesus’ resurrection? Because if it is true, everything changes. It is easier to ignore and deny the true answer, then you don’t have to admit that there is a God that loves you so much that He died for you and wants to have a relationship with you. To admit that is a game changer.
If Jesus did not conquer the grave, then what? He died for nothing. Then, I am lost along with all of mankind. There is no reason to live apart from animalistic survival-of-the-fittest behavior. There is no right and no wrong. There is no truth. Relativism’s edict of no foundational truth existence would be the new “truth.” If it feels good, then it is all right, go and do it. Nothing is wrong because there are no absolutes. Cruel and inhumane behavior is as “right” as anything else. Anything goes. Do not tell Lenin, Stalin, Mao or Hitler they were wrong in their slaughter of hundreds of millions. You don’t have a leg to stand on in your criticism of them. You have no right if there is no God. You have no right to cast criticism on any person, action, creed or belief; you have no standing…if there…is no “absolute truth.”
But...if He did rise from the grave, then what? How I respond has an eternal ripple effect. I cannot go on my merry way (Oh I can try but with dire implications). If the angel rolled the stone away and Jesus walked out, then He is Lord as He said. He is the “Great I AM.” He is “the author and finisher of life.”
Today is Easter Sunday. Today I choose to believe!
Cindy and I listened to the old song called “Easter Song” by the music group 2nd Chapter of Acts. We use to listen to it every Easter when we were first married. As we listened today, the same tears came to both our eyes.
My heart and soul bear witness to this fact: He’s alive.
He’s alive, He has risen. And He is my Savior!
Love you Dad
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