I couldn’t let Easter come and go another year without explaining why Easter is so much more than just the cross to me. As someone who was very skeptical of religion at a younger age, it took me many years of study to get to a point where my faith superseded my suspicion. I’m not a very trusting person, so I don’t generally go on someone’s word. I need cold hard facts and tons of evidence. Maybe it’s because my dad was always a detective or serving in law enforcement, and I was used to deductive reasoning? In school I loved History, and took AP classes for college credit in my junior and senior years, so I devoured anything in history I could get my hands on at the time. I needed to understand the history behind why Christ even came!
One can’t truly appreciate all that Christ offers historically without knowing about the history Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 17-end of the book). In this same way, it would be impossible to even understand why Israel needed the redemption of a Savior without understand Jacob and the 12 tribes of Israel, the Levite priests, and their cleansing ceremonies and atonements. Why else would the curtain need to be torn in two after Christ died? If you don’t know these stories, then I want to challenge you today to read the Old Testament and truly understand why Israel needed a Savior, and why I personally feel that I need a Savior.
One can’t understand why we go to church if they don’t understand the Ark of the Covenant, Moses, and Soloman’s Temple. Once I understood the historical background and all the prophecies (foretellings) of the Messiah, why He came, and why He was needed, then it made sense why the Jewish people at the time didn’t really want what He had to offer. He was coming to rule over their hearts. He wasn’t looking to be a military leader and give them back their land (That didn’t even happen until the 1900’s), he was looking to govern their hearts and make them a people who could love, give, and serve. Take this year to find out why it’s so much more than a cross, but also an empty grave. For that I will always be in love with Him, indebted, and grateful.
So many people sit in churches across this country each week without evening knowing the history behind why they are there. How I wish I could have easily been a person with so much faith I didn’t need to understand, there is danger in not knowing. I didn’t want to base my entire after life on a hunch. However, now I know why I can enter a time of prayer and confession without needing to sacrifice, and I’ve read about the life of Christ and how his main goal was to show love to others, I can open my heart to God, let go of control of my life, and walk in a peace that truly does pass all understanding. I’m FREE Today!!! I hope that you are too!
thank you for your testimony. I too need evidence, but when i made a mess of my life, I needed help. A simple “are you real, then help me” was all it took and life was restored and freedom was found. what a load lifted. Im loved in spite of my bad choices.