Easter

Easter is literally central to the Western World. The flag of England is a red cross on a white background. The cross is also present in the flags of many other Western countries, including New Zealand. Time is measured from when Jesus (the central figure of Easter) was born. B.C. means Before Christ, while A.D. stands for Anno Domini, which means "In the year of our Lord". Easter is an important time of year for supermarkets, bakeries and chocolate factories. I've worked at a supermarket and observed the frenzied purchase of pallet loads of Easter-eggs and bunnies and other boxes of chocolates. I've worked at a bakery, baking thousands of hot cross buns. My sister is in the kitchen, icing yet another tray of hot-cross buns before she puts then in the oven. Harvey Norman is advertising Easter Deals on a range of electrical equipment. Someone on Facebook had the witty status message, "Dave hopes you are having a good Friday".

But what is Easter?

About 2009 years ago, a Jewish woman named Mary found she was pregnant - even though she hadn't yet had sex with her fiance, Joseph. God sent an angel to tell Mary that her baby was the long-awaited Messiah. Messiah is the Jewish word for Christ, and means "Saviour". Jesus was a member of the Trinity: one of the three persons of God. God the Father sent God the Son to the Earth, to be born as a man. Jesus was all God and all man at the same time. You will notice in the Bible that He is refered to sometimes as the Son of God, and other times as the Son of Man.

God is absolutely holy, and cannot stand sin. However we humans are sinful (click here to confirm), and therefore, God must punish us for this by sending us to hell. Because we are sinful, even though we may often do good things, we can never be perfect - which means that we can never satisfy God.

Because Jesus was God, he never sinned while he was on Earth. And because Jesus was man, he experienced the things that all of us experience. Jesus was crucified on a cross (a common method of Roman execution) on a Friday afternoon - but his physical suffering was just one aspect. God also poured out all his anger and judgement on Jesus at that time, to pay for the sins of Christians. Jesus did not stay dead though. God resurrected Him back to life on the following Sunday morning. Jesus had defeated death and paid the penalty for the sins of all those who put their trust in Him.

Christianity is the only religion which says that good works cannot make a person right with God. Christians are not "good people"; they are not holy. They are just like all other people in the World. The only difference is, that instead of ignoring God, or trying to please God by doing good things, they actually put their trust in Jesus' death on the cross.

On the last day of the World, the Bible tells us that God will judge everyone. Christians will be confident, because they know that when God looks at their heart, instead of seeing their sinfulness, He will only see Jesus' perfect righteousness in its place.

Only Christians will be saved, and allowed to enter Heaven. Everyone will live forever, however Christians will be the only ones who live happily forever. People who have refused to acknowledge God, and to honour and obey Him will be given what all people in the World actually deserve: the punishment of spending eternity in Hell.

Easter is a celebration of Jesus' sacrifice which has opened the way for people to be made right with God.

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This account may sound far-fetched to you. But don't try and tell me that the theory of evolution - or any other religion is any more believable.

To become a Christian, you need to pray to God, repenting of your sin and asking for forgiveness. You also need to turn your back on your old way of life. As the Apostle Paul said, "we have been saved, but this doesn't mean that we can just go on living as we used to". It is also important to read the Bible regularly (daily is best), to remember to pray to God with requests and thanks, and also to find a church nearby which teaches from the Bible.

Other Christian bloggers' Easter posts:
There they Crucified Him - Scrubone