The Ridiculousness of the Easter Story

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).

As a child I was taught that God created everything. Life, heaven, hell, even us.  And I never doubted it.  At the age of eight, my sister helped me realize that my parents worked together to deceive us. Together they became Santa, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy; our parents: a well-meaning couple of highly skilled, yet loving, liars.  I didn’t get mad or upset with them, even when armed with that newly found evidence.

But for some reason, I never doubted them when it came to God.  Nor did I question the life of Jesus. And even though I didn't fully understand Him, I never doubted the existence of His Holy Spirit; especially once I’d experienced Him stirring in my gut!

Over my lifetime, I’ve seen people searching for a lot of things. Wealth, love, truth, acceptance; but for some reason, after I experienced the Holy Spirit for myself, my search was over - I was okay. I can’t say I've ever felt accepted by a lot of people. Sometimes I still feel like a fifth wheel – and I'm even okay with that (after I get away to myself - haha). But there’s just something about faith in God that fills those voids.  

It's like I understand – deep down – that He (God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit) is real. And that understanding, an innate truth, is simply a part of me. But then yesterday happened…and it only took one preacher and forty-nine years of real life for me to see it straight.

I was listening to a preacher on the radio. He was speaking on the Easter Story. And a thought popped into my head. Suddenly it occurred to me that the message he was sharing was ridiculous. And the more I considered that thought, the more sense it made: the ridiculousness of the Easter story.

Surely any reasonable person wouldn’t believe this stuff…right?

I'm not saying the life of Jesus wasn't real. Or that He wasn't a great teacher. From historical accounts, He even sounds like a great friend. But when that preacher started telling how Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, the one perfect Sacrificial Lamb, that He took all sin upon Himself…well…it sounded crazy to me.  Yes ridiculous is a good word.

So, in my mind, I started thinking about the Easter Story. And then I felt Him. The Holy Spirit stirring within. Like He had something to say about the matter. So I turned the radio off and let Him do what He does best. I let Him be my Comforter and Guide. The Voice of Truth that Jesus sent back to us (See John 14).

And I smiled.

I smiled because of this ridiculous faith of mine.

I smiled because I know that faith is freeing and sets good boundaries.

I smiled because I don’t have to understand it at all.

I smiled because I know to accept Him for who He is.

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Y’all, faith is not about our ability to reason all this stuff out. It's not about the nuts and bolts of knowledge. It isn’t about understanding why Jesus came here to kick around among mankind. Faith is about accepting. It is about feeling, innately, the love of God. And that makes faith well, ridiculous. But I’ll take it!

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In Christ with Love and Compassion,

Coach Kelly

#YourLifeCoachingWV