Whimsical Wednesdays

“As a child, I received instruction in both the Bible and the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled in the luminous figure of the Nazarene… No one can read the Gospel without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.”

~ Albert Einstein

Recently, I was asked what the resurrection of Jesus Christ means in my life. At first, this seemed a simple and rather easy question to answer, but after a moment of reflection, I realized how important the resurrection truly is. So many times we focus on the life and death of Jesus, and rightfully so. His ministry and mission are more miraculous than the stars, but so many times the resurrection gets placed on the back burner of Christianity. I was once in a training that taught teachers how to properly teach the gospel to children, and one of the jokes that we were always reminded of was, “Don’t leave Jesus dead.” We all laughed, but the truth is that the joke was necessary in order to remind us not to forget the resurrection. So often teachers (myself included) would speak about the crucifixion and death of Jesus and would forget to include the resurrection, essentially leaving Jesus dead to the children. Albert Einstein with all of his knowledge and genius pinpointed the power of Christianity and the difference between it and other world religions with his statement, “No myth is filled with such life.” As beautiful, powerful, and freeing as the crucifixion is, Christianity would not have the life changing impact on the human soul today without the resurrection of Jesus. Einstein would not be able to feel the presence of Jesus if He were still dead. His personality would not pulsate through every word if He were still in the grave. Without the resurrection, Jesus would be just another dead prophet. Without his life, He would join the legions of other men that have died for a cause. Without his rising we would serve a God that could be conquered by death, and if that were so what kind of God would that be? We should not make the mistake of taking for granted that we serve a living God. Go out today with the assurance of the truth of the Gospel, “No myth is filled with such life!”