Christ is risen

Last night, Nate flipped channels and started watching "The Bible" marathon on Jesus' death and resurrection.

I have to say, this is a busy month and I knew that this weekend was going to be my last free time so I had a long to-do list. My weekend was mostly concentrated on getting things done, and I hadn't thought a whole lot about Easter. Nate had to work and we weren't doing anything to celebrate other than go to church, so it didn't seem like a big deal.

But then I started to watch Jesus' story play out on TV. His hands healed the lame. His tone conveyed forgiveness to Judas and Peter when they betrayed him. His battered face came before the Jewish leaders and yet he was calm when they wanted to kill him.

It was about 9:30 p.m. when the time came for the next part of the story. I got up and asked Novie if she needed to go out one more time. Nate asked, "Don't you like this show?"

"Not before I go to bed," I answered.

I didn't want to see it. I didn't want to watch Jesus go through the excruciating pain I knew he was about to endure on the screen. I didn't want to see his bloodied body nailed to a cross. I didn't want to see him die.

It's heart-breaking to think about, and it's good that we do think about it this time of year, and throughout the year. If we don't see those images sometimes, if we don't contemplate all that Jesus did for us, we don't appreciate it very much. We have to stop and realize just how much Jesus, the perfect and holy son of God, went through just for us. He didn't deserve any of it. We do. But he took it on himself to take our punishment.

I might have sat and watched the TV show if I knew that I would see the end of the story though, but I knew we would go to bed before it ended.

You see, it's horrible to watch all that Jesus went through, all that pain and suffering. But the story thankfully doesn't end there. It ends with a brilliance beyond what we can imagine. It ends when Jesus raises from the dead and conquers death and Satan.

Growing up, my home church called Easter Resurrection Sunday. It's kind of a mouthful to say "Happy Resurrection Sunday," so I said "Happy Easter" when greeting the congregation at church this morning. However, I like calling it Resurrection Sunday. I like that it focuses on the amazing miracle that Jesus did that day. I like that it focuses on Jesus instead of bringing up visions of bunnies, eggs and candy.

The story has a beautiful ending. Jesus is alive. So, happy Resurrection Sunday.

Christ is Risen. He is risen indeed.