If you’re thinking of leaving Christianity, please get through Easter. Here’s why:
Easter is the most important day of the year.
That’s not an overstatement for dramatic effect. It’s just true.
If you’re a follower of Jesus, then Easter Sunday is the most important day on our calendar. Everything else revolves around THAT day. Easter ranks #1/365 days.
Christmas is great, but it’s a distant second.
If Christmas represents God’s invasion into enemy-held territory, then Easter is the victory that routed the enemy and restored peace.
It’s been said, “Easter is proof Christmas worked.”[1] I love that.
Besides, Christmas didn’t create Christianity. Easter did.
So What?
Here’s why this is good news.
Many of the people I know have endured some kind of hardship that fractured their view of God.
For some, that hardship came at the hands of Christians who weren’t acting like Christ. As a result, it became difficult to maintain a connection to the Church. So, they walked away.
For others, their faith in God was weakened by parts of The Bible they simply couldn’t reconcile. It no longer made sense to believe all the Bible stories. So, they walked away.
If you’ve been hurt by The Church or are struggling with parts of The Bible (especially the Old Testament), then I want to remind you of one simple truth: those things are not what God is asking you to believe in anyway.
They’re not the basis of your faith. Easter is.
The Church didn’t create Christianity. Easter did.
The Bible didn’t create Christianity. Easter did.
There was a “Christianity” hundreds of years before there was ever a “The Bible.” Nearly 300 years before our current Bible began to circulate, there existed a passionate, growing Church of Jesus followers.[2]
The Bible didn’t create Christianity. Easter did. Click To TweetThe Resurrection
It’s about a Person.
Why did generations of people risk their lives to defy Rome and convert to Christianity? It wasn’t because they believed in “The Bible.” It was because they believed in The Resurrection.
The basis of our faith is not The Bible or the church or answered prayers. The basis of our faith is a Person—the resurrected Jesus Christ.
That means our faith can endure parts of the Bible we don’t understand. It can endure Christians who aren’t Christ-like, and it can endure unanswered prayers.
Those things can be barriers—to be sure. They all hurt. I don’t want to cheapen your pain by pretending those things don’t matter. They do.
The basis of our faith is not The Bible or the church or answered prayers. The basis of our faith is a Person—the Resurrected Jesus Christ. Click To TweetBut, they were never intended to be sources of—or barriers to—faith. Those roles are reserved for Jesus alone.
23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
-1 Corinthians 1.23-34
No Other Reason
A Snowball’s Chance in Hell
Consider this: 2,000 years ago, a snowball started to roll in the middle of the desert.
Seemingly overnight, hundreds of people felt compelled to alter the faith of their youth. They had every socio-economic reason NOT to convert, but they converted anyway. Christianity didn’t make life easier; it made it harder.
“Against all odds, by the third century, Christianity had become a force to be reckoned with. We still do not really understand how this came about.”
-Karen Armstrong, Fields of Blood
Converts felt social and religious heat from Judaism, and they felt economic and legal heat from Rome. But, they converted anyway. The snowball continued to roll through a scorching hot desert, and it got big. Fast.
Why? Why did the church grow when it wasn’t supposed to grow? Why did people convert when they weren’t supposed to convert?
Because they actually believed in The Resurrection. They believed enough to stake their lives on it. Easter changed everything.
It still does.
3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.
-1 Corinthians 15:3–6
When you’re tempted to walk away, consider Jesus. He is who you first believed in. Should His people be more kind? Absolutely. But you don’t believe in his people anyway. You believe in Him.
Would you like life to make more sense? Sure—who doesn’t? But good days don’t give life meaning. He does.
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
-Hebrews 12:2–3
From the Fray,
-bill
[1] I believe Tim Keller first said this, but I don’t have a direct citation. If you do, please let me know.
[2] That’s longer than the United States has been in existence!