The dark side of Easter

What are your favorite Easter childhood memories? I would get an Easter basket filled with candy, and sometimes, it would include a stuffed animal. My grandmother would give me a carton of chocolate-covered marshmallow eggs. We might eat a decorated cake in the shape of a cross. There would always be chocolate rabbits to consume -- ears first. Most Easter Sundays, we would put on uncomfortable new clothes and go to church.

One Easter Sunday morning, at age 11, I was in church with my family. The preacher spoke about how Jesus was arrested, beaten and nailed to a cross. I was somewhat familiar with the story, but it was like I was hearing about it for the first time. All I knew about Jesus was that he loved me, and I could trust him with my prayers. Hearing about the torture he endured broke my heart, and I began to cry.

My grandmother asked me if I wanted to go forward during the invitation. At first, I thought she wanted me to go up to the preacher and compliment him on his sermon. I started asking questions, and my mother realized that I did not understand what it meant to respond to a gospel invitation by surrendering my life to Christ. She intervened and told me it would be better for me to wait until I understood what I was doing.

Looking back, I am thankful that she encouraged me to wait. I have encountered many people who walked an aisle, signed a card or professed faith publicly without understanding what it meant. Most of them struggle with their faith later in life. Some become apostate, but I am convinced that they never believed in the first place.

The next Easter, when I was 12, I heard John 3:3 quoted. This is where Jesus told Nicodemus that unless a person was "born again", he or she would not see the kingdom of God. I realized that professing faith in Christ was not just something good to do, but a matter of where I would spend eternity. I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sin, and I gave my life to him and asked him to save me. Since that time, I have grown in my faith and gained assurance that I will go to Heaven when I die.

Professing faith in Jesus is the starting point of the Christian life. Followers of Jesus will experience many of the things that Jesus experienced. Consider some of the messianic prophecies Jesus fulfilled in Isaiah chapter 53. "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." We read about his suffering and see that, "with his wounds we are healed." His death, burial and resurrection save us from our sin.

If you ever saw the movie, "The Passion of the Christ," you have an image of a beaten and bloodied Jesus. This is a far cry from pastel colors and Easter baskets. So dark, sad, and heartbreaking.

Jesus prepares his followers by warning us, "you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved." Matthew 10:22.

The Bible teaches us that Jesus never sinned. He was righteous and just, yet there were people who hated him to the point of crucifying him. It should not surprise Christians that the world would hate us as it did Jesus.

However, the story of Jesus does not end with rejection and suffering. He is alive, risen from the dead. He is victorious over death and offers hope to those of us who put our faith and trust in Jesus for salvation.

We are joyful on Easter Sunday morning because Jesus is risen, and light has overcome the darkness. So let us put on our Sunday best, go to church, eat some good food and give our children memories to cherish for a lifetime.