Editor’s
journey
If
Easter is a lie
SPRINGFIELD, MO. — A fellow
airline passenger asked me, “What if Easter isn’t true? What if
Jesus was a good man who died — but that’s it?”
“Well,” I replied,
“that means you and I, if we’re fortunate, will live 70-plus years
and then it’s over. Without the Resurrection, Jesus is not the Redeemer
He claimed to be and there’s no hope for the world. But because Easter
is true, you have the opportunity to live forever.”
That led to a lengthy discussion
and a prayer that Jesus would reveal himself to this stranger.
The apostle Paul answered a similar
question to the one asked by this man in 1 Corinthians 15:13-22 (NIV): “If
there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your
faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God,
for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. …
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in
your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only
for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. … For since death came
through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For
as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”
If Easter is a lie, our faith is
futile. But if we believe in the accuracy of Paul’s testimony in 1 Corinthians
15:2-7, we have an obligation to tell everyone about the truth of the Resurrection
and the promise of eternal life. Paul said, “By this gospel you are
saved … that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that
he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared
to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time. … Then he
appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to
me.”
May we renew our commitment this
Easter to share the truth of the Resurrection with our family and friends
and with strangers the Holy Spirit places in our path.
— Hal Donaldson
E-mail your comments to pe@ag.org.
