I remind myself from time to time that my faith in Christ is not a blind leap nor is it grounded in irrationality. Unlike so many other world-views, religious or secular, that are based soley on philosophy and idealogy, the faith that that followers of Christ hold is rooted in events that really happened. Central to our faith is the belief Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And this belief was not just pulled out of a hat. The historic testimonies of that event have been recorded and preserved for us from antiquity! When Luke, a companion of the Apostle Paul, wrote the book of Acts, Here is how he prefaced his account:
"In my former book Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus begain to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." -Acts 1:1-3
As I prepare for Easter celebration, I've been visiting the resurrection accounts in the Bible during my devotions. In the days that followed the discovery of Jesus' empty tomb, He appeared to them physically, in the body, on a number of different occassions. They touched him. They felt the crucifixion nail wounds in his hands and the hole in his side where the Roman soldier pierced his side with a sword after he died. They ate and drank with him. He spoke with them. He proved to them that He had truly risen.
These accounts have been embraced and believed from that time 2000 years ago until today. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our faith is in vain in useless. It is because Jesus conquered death as he said he would that we are followers of Christ. If it is through Jesus that we too overcome death and enter into eternal life, then his words his words truly apply: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
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