Hopefully, for some of the individuals impacted by recent devastating storms, school shootings and other tragedies, Easter will serve as a reminder that, by the grace of God, we can overcome adversity and be renewed even in this harsh, even cruel, environment we call life.
Most of the people celebrating Easter this week will do so without those particular burdens, but each of us has our own “load” to bear.
Trouble, grief, headaches, heartaches, disappointment, frustration, sorrow, pain, weakness, sickness, helplessness, disillusionment — all are a part of the human condition, and the list goes on.
Paraphrasing Job 14:1 of the Bible, each of us lives a short time and our life is filled with many troubles.
None of us is exempt.
We also experience the beauty of creation, love, happiness, calmness, proudness, hope, friendship, peacefulness, goodness, strength, the power and the will to live.
It’s a mixed bag, with good times and bad times, courtesy of imperfect people coexisting in an imperfect world.
I liken the season of winter to a drab, dull time when cold descends and either kills the beauty and lushness of the landscape or forces it into exile.
Spring is a time of rebirth, when the environment wakes from slumber and new life manifests at almost every turn.
For me, as a Christian believer, Easter is a time during spring to acknowledge how destitute this world is and, yet, how the death and resurrection of one man, Jesus Christ, brought a measure of inner peace, comfort and joy that is with us no matter the external circumstances.
It seems fewer and fewer people believe in the literal story of the birth of Jesus, His life of preaching, performing miracles, then dying as a sacrifice for our sins. I do.
It is impossible to wrap my human brain around it, but I see it through faith.
I accept that we have a sinful nature that can be salvaged only through rebirth — giving oneself to a savior whose death and, more importantly, resurrection brought forgiveness and salvation to anyone who will believe and accept it.
Another verse of scripture I like is John 16:33, in which Jesus says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Happy Easter.
Clay McFerrin is editor and publisher of The Sun-Sentinel in Charleston, Mississippi.
