Is Easter Important Or Meaningless?

Easter time is upon us. The big day is less than two weeks away. Each year, as Easter approaches, I wonder about Christians and their attitude toward Christianity. I have these thoughts because Easter makes Christianity an all-or-nothing proposition, and many claiming Christianity try to walk in the middle of the road.

Allow me to explain.

It is as if a classification of Christianity is labeled “Casual Christian.” Those in the casual category will answer in the affirmative if asked, “Are you a Christian?” They attend church occasionally. They almost always make it to Easter services and possibly Christmas as well. The rest of the year is anyone’s guess. Bible study is nothing more significant than a devotional – a one-page handful of paragraphs, an explanation of a verse written at the top. Prayer is a last resort instead of a first option. Witnessing, instead of explaining the gospel, is an invitation to church on Easter.

Others are “less than casual Christians.”

If asked if they are a Christian, this group, if they respond at all, will answer with something like, “I was baptized when I was twelve.” As far as church attendance goes, they can hardly remember if the last time they went was in the late nineties or the early two thousands. Bible reading? “Well, let me see. I think the last time I saw my Bible was when I was gathering stuff for the yard sale we had a couple of years back.” When it comes to prayer and witnessing, there is no reason to ask.

These two groups claim Christianity but are not what one would call devoted. But what does that have to do with Easter?

Think about the claims of Christianity concerning Easter weekend.

God’s Son, God in the flesh, goes through a brutal death, shedding His blood for the sins of humanity. Then three days later, by His own power, Jesus walks away from death. The events of Easter prove that God, Jesus Christ, has authority over the grave and is life itself. Any hope anyone can have of life after death can only be found in the cross of Jesus Christ and His empty tomb.

These claims are extraordinary and, if accepted, cannot be taken lightly. Beyond Easter, think of what the Bible says.

1. Jesus Christ is God.

2. He is the creator of the universe.

3. He became flesh and dwelt among us.

4. He was born of a virgin.

5. He raised the dead.

6. He walked on water.

7. He cured people with every ailment imaginable.

8. He was the Lamb of God; the only sacrifice God the Father would accept for payment for our sins.

9. He rose Himself from the grave.

10. He appeared to hundreds of people after His resurrection.

11. When He left this earth, He floated off into the sky in front of several witnesses.

12. He promised to return someday to take His followers to a paradise so wonderful human words cannot describe it.

13. Sometime in the future, Jesus will rule the world for one thousand years.

14. The list of things Jesus did while He was on earth is so extensive the world could not contain the books that could be written about Him.

If these claims are true, how can anyone be a casual Christian? As I said earlier, Easter makes Christianity an all-or-nothing proposition.

Jesus is either God or a man like the rest of us.

His blood is either tainted with sin like ours or has enough cleansing power to wash away every sin ever committed.

He either walked away from the tomb and currently sits on the right hand of the Father, or His body has turned to dust in some grave near Jerusalem.

The extraordinary claims of the Bible are either one-hundred percent truth or a bunch of lies. Easter is either the most important weekend in the history of the world, or it is meaningless.

To those who can see themselves in the “casual Christian” descriptions above, how can you be so nonchalant about the God that has changed your eternity?

How can we treat the God that paid the most incredible price, the precious blood of His Son, for us, with I’ll get to Him when it is convenient, and I find the time?

The events of the original Easter weekend are the most critical events in human history, do not live your life as if those events are meaningless.