“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins…. If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.”
1 Corinthians 15:17, 19
The message we celebrate every spring is not a mere feel-good religious balm or a set of moral principles. We lament and rejoice, sing and sit silent, worship and wait because of a singular fact that changed the world: An itinerant rabbi from Nazareth named Jesus is the Son of God who took on the sins of a corrupted world and a broken humanity on a cruel Roman cross. He then walked out of a borrowed tomb three days later and defeated the sin, death, and decay from which our pain in this world arises.
Easter reaches us right there. Right there in the pain and ugliness of our lives.
Jesus rose again. In fact, He says He is the resurrection and the life (see John 11:25). It’s why everything we say and believe hinges on this one reality, separating Christianity from just another fantasy or religious exercise. We need Easter because it is the true story of Jesus putting death to death. Easter means that if we are in Christ, we will be made alive, spiritually and physically. There is a new world dawning far better than the old one.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel M. Darling
Daniel Darling is an author, pastor, speaker, and podcast host. He currently serves as the Director of The Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Assistant Professor of Faith and Culture at Texas Baptist College. All of this month’s Anchor writing comes from his book, The Characters of Easter (2021). Dan has served on various boards and commissions and also has pastored churches in Illinois and Tennessee. He and his wife Angela have four children ages 11-18 and live in the Fort Worth area where they enjoy visiting old bookstores, new coffee shops, and interesting historical sites.
Easter reaches us right there. Right there in the pain and ugliness of our lives.
Jesus rose again. In fact, He says He is the resurrection and the life (see John 11:25). It’s why everything we say and believe hinges on this one reality, separating Christianity from just another fantasy or religious exercise. We need Easter because it is the true story of Jesus putting death to death. Easter means that if we are in Christ, we will be made alive, spiritually and physically. There is a new world dawning far better than the old one.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel M. Darling
Daniel Darling is an author, pastor, speaker, and podcast host. He currently serves as the Director of The Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Assistant Professor of Faith and Culture at Texas Baptist College. All of this month’s Anchor writing comes from his book, The Characters of Easter (2021). Dan has served on various boards and commissions and also has pastored churches in Illinois and Tennessee. He and his wife Angela have four children ages 11-18 and live in the Fort Worth area where they enjoy visiting old bookstores, new coffee shops, and interesting historical sites.
Scripture Focus
1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Insight
If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.(Jaroslav Pelikan, 2007)
Bible In A Year
- Leviticus 26-27
- Psalm 60
- Luke 24
