Our View: History's pivotal moment, as Christians understand it, was when a gracious God redeemed fallen sinners.As the human-born son of God, Jesus Christ's redemptive work culminated on this day nearly 2,000 years ago when he rose again from a stony tomb.
History's pivotal moment, as Christians understand it, was when a gracious God redeemed fallen sinners.
As the human-born son of God, Jesus Christ's redemptive work culminated on this day nearly 2,000 years ago when he rose again from a stony tomb. The first Christians wedded their belief in Jesus' resurrection with earlier traditions of annual rebirth at springtime to give us Easter Sunday.
While Christmas has a stronger hold on American culture, Easter represents the most important day of the Christian calendar. This is the moment when the potential for hatred and lust for violence that lurks in the human soul is answered by God's ultimate power to restore life and freedom. The Bible teaches that Jesus used his own blood to wash away the faults and follies of his followers so they can also enter the heavenly kingdom.
Christians never did shake away the additional symbols of renewal originally borrowed from other religions to entice new believers across the Middle East, Europe and the rest of the world. So colored eggs and bunny rabbits are still touchstones of the holiday, even as many religious leaders claim the commercialization of such symbols now detracts from the underlying reason for Easter.
But we believe a forgiving and loving God can accept the joy that such symbols bring on a day when we truly should celebrate the blessings that have been bestowed on us all.
