Jesus or the Easter bunny?

For many people, especially children, this Sunday morning means just one thing: the Easter bunny is going to bring large amounts of chocolate, candy, plastic eggs, marshmallow baby chicks and ugly green synthetic grass enclosed in a pastel colored plastic woven basket. Hallelujah, Christ has risen!

This weekend marks the single most important celebration for Christians, but our culture denies and even makes fun of its sacred meaning. Our secular society has done an excellent job masking Easter’s true meaning with chocolate bunnies, fancy dresses and egg shaped paraphernalia. When we no longer know what we are celebrating, we revert back to our "default mode" in hopes of giving the holiday some form of contemporary meaning: consumption. Living in the secular world of Western civilization, no one wants to talk about the biblical meaning, or at least get some historic understanding, of Easter. But here is news for you: the right to religious freedom does not mean the absence of religion.

Easter is a holiday that serves as a remembrance for what happened on the cross more than 2000 years ago. Do yourself a favor and try to wrap your secular mind around these facts: A man named Jesus lived. He performed miracles. People couldn’t explain them then, and they can’t explain them now. He was arrested. He was beaten, tortured, broken, nailed on a cross with three nails and pierced by a spear through the heart. After his death his body was placed in a tomb guarded by Roman soldiers. Nearly three days later this man was seen walking seven miles away from the tomb. Shortly thereafter, he ascended into heaven or in more simple secular terms, he disappeared..

Hate it or love it, those are historical facts. You can watch it on the secular Discovery documentary channel , read a history book, check it out in Wikipedia, ask your history or religious studies professor about the life of this man. Do whatever you want, but guaranteed, the results will all be the same. He lived, he died, he was seen alive again and he was never found dead.

So this Easter, try and forget those colorful baskets, the bunny and the bogus secular message. Instead do a little research. Trying to reconcile these historical facts will turn out to be far better for your health than eating those chocolate bunnies.