Easter

Like so many of you, I adore Easter. As Allison mentioned, Christmas is important, but for Christians it's just the beginning of an incredible journey. God could have chosen any one of a million paths for His Son, but the one He chose leads us to the foundation of Christian faith. As I've reflected on Easter this year I've come to realize that I wouldn't want Easter to receive the same attention as Christmas. Easter still manages to evade most of the secular influence that comes with the big holiday - the festivities and traditions and gift giving that tend to crowd out the message. Easter is still very much about Christ and the journey.

Sometimes I think God must look down at what we've done to Christianity and just shake His head. We've created so much division over little pieces of doctrine among denominations that we tend to miss the big picture in our day to day worship. But this weekend... this is when Christians all over the world agree on the most important aspect of Christianity: He has risen, just as He said.

My cousin, BFF Lynn, has an 8 year old son who has started asking the big question - what does it mean to be saved? She wants to make sure he understands as he moved toward making some big decisions. I'm not sure any of us understand, really. I'm not sure we can grasp it all. But I know I don't have to. I just have to trust what I know in my heart - He has risen, just as He said. And through His sacrifice, we have been been given the gift of salvation and grace. Is there anything greater?