We want the Resurrection

We've had a really terrible winter this year. I mean really terrible. But good news, we broke the record for the most snowfall in central Illinois! Victory! Everyone give yourself a nice pat on the back for surviving the frozen tundra. 

Winter is a really terrible yet beautiful thing, isn't it? The first few snow falls of the season, I open up my curtains and just sit and stare as the snow covers our backyard. I am amazed by the purity and power of the snow. Now, come March when it's still snowing, I'm done. I don't even want to open my curtains, because subconsciously I think that if I don't see the snow, maybe it's not even there. But it's not really the snow I'm trying to avoid. More than the snow itself, I'm really trying to avoid the inhumane below-zero temps that we were having. "Feels like -35*" is something that I NEVER want to see when I'm checking the weather on my phone.  I don't love winter. I'm fascinated by it, but I definitely don't love it. I tolerate winter, because I have to get through winter to get to spring. 

Personally I wish that we could skip over winter all together. Maybe get a few snowfalls in, one snow day, get a couple of really great pictures, but then just fast forward straight to spring. Because does anyone really enjoy winter? Winter is hard. It's hard (at least with a baby) to get out and do your normal routines. Some days its hard just to leave the house. One time this year Lola and I went 6 days without even leaving our house. Not even a drive to McDonalds to get a sweet tea. That's how bad it was people! But we did it. It was a long, hard winter, but with the predicted temps of next week being in the 70s, I think (and pray) that we've seen the end of it. We endured the pain. Spring is here.

For Christians, Easter Sunday is a day of celebration and joy. We love to think about how Jesus rose from the dead and how now our debt is paid. We love the celebration so much that often we forget the pain that led to it. We forget about Good Friday. We think about it, sure, but I know we don't even come close to understanding the intensity and pain that Jesus went through. 

My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me?

Do I realize the depth of that question? Do I realize the anguish? I don't. And that's partially because I don't want to. It's easy and painless to accept the Jesus that is victorious. I tolerate Jesus' pain so I can get to His resurrection. I should be embracing His pain. The beatings, the torture, the name-calling, the mockery, the humiliation, the exhaustion, the death. 

When I tell the Easter story, I say things like, "He sacrificed Himself," or "He paid the price," and while those statements are absolute fact, they do not do justice to what Jesus did. 

The victory of the grave is made sweet because of the devastation of the cross.

Jesus knew that in order for us to have a relationship with Him, He would have to endure excruciating pain. But Jesus didn't just tolerate that day. He took it on completely. He felt each jab and piercing to the fullest. He gave his entire self until there was nothing left to give. Because just like you and I, He longed for the resurrection, but He couldn't get there without going to the cross. 

There is no resurrection without death. There is no joy without pain. There is no light without darkness. There is no healing without suffering.
There is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday.