This is not an "Easter Post"

A few weeks ago, my friend Hailey shared with me a really cool story called "The Rag Man." It's a poetic allegory in which a strong, young, smart man travels around a city advertising his rag cleaning service. The narrator quickly realizes that there is something unique about this "rag man" because when he replaces the wet, used handkerchief of a crying woman and the dirty, stained bandage of an injured man, he takes their burdens onto himself. The recipients are healthy and happy again, but the rag man is bleeding and brokenhearted in their place. The rag man is, of course, a symbol for Jesus and what He did for us on the cross.

I loved this story because it gave context to what sometimes seems like an abstract idea. "Sin" can be a strange word at times, especially in our American culture when religious beliefs are frowned upon in light of relativism. "The Rag Man" draws an analogy for how sin affects our souls like physical injuries affect our bodies, or how loss and sadness affect our emotional selves. Just as Jesus performed miracles during His life on earth, including the healing people's bodies, He also cleansed our souls and removed the dirt, blood, stains, pain, and suffering that result from our disobedience to God. He took it all onto himself -- all the anguish and terror, the hurt and heartache, everything that we deserve --  and He endured it in our place. It can be hard to think about, sometimes, what "hell" means: death as the wages for our sin. But thinking of it in terms of a bruised and bleeding laceration, being doubled over in pain, or the deepest sadness and loss I can imagine, multiplied by ten, gives an interesting perspective into the significance of Christ's death on the cross. It hurt for Him just as it would for us. There were two key differences, though: One, He didn't deserve any of it. Two, He then rose from the dead, conquering sin and removing the power of the grave.

It might seem like I'm doing this whole "Easter Blogpost" a day late (and a dollar short) but I wouldn't say this is merely an "Easter Post." See, what Christ did on the cross changed everything about life. It changed life for the Jews back in year 33 of Jesus's time on earth, and it changed my life in 2011 when His death became real for me. What happened on the first Easter -- that fateful "third day" -- wasn't limited to an annual celebration. Christ's resurrection marked the beginning of His reign as the ruler of the universe. The fact that He rose from the dead is what defines Christianity, and should be the single most influential factor in the life of every Christian (and really every person) today. When Christ died, He paid the price for our sins. But when He rose again, He transcended humanness and displayed His glory as the one who conquered death. Christ began His ministry as king on the first Easter, and that is what gives us hope every year on (and after) Easter today. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:19, "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." Christ's teachings for life help us to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, but it is only in His death and resurrection that the struggle of our time on earth becomes significant in the context of eternity. By returning from the dead, He broke the power of sin and subsequent death. That, friends, is why we have hope - and not just for Easter Sunday. In Christ's resurrection, we have hope for every single day of our lives.