The Hope We Have

When I was a kid, I remember the excitement I felt looking forward to Easter- I’d get to eat a bunch of candy and probably even get some kind of toy in my easter basket (though one year, me and my siblings all got garden tools). My parents certainly didn’t slack off on teaching us the significance of the resurrection, but for most of my life up to this point chocolate seemed better. This is the part of the story where you might expect me to tell you of some pivotal moment when I suddenly understood the importance of Jesus’ resurrection, but that’s just not how it was for me (or, I think, for most of us). And I think that’s on par with the story of the Bible as well. Sometimes we look at religion in general, and Christianity in particular and see it as a list of qualifications to attain some prize. 

The truth, however is that even when I was content to look forward to my chocolate Easter Bunny, God was looking forward to a relationship with me. When I was sleepless in anticipation of whatever toy my parents had gotten me, Jesus was sleeplessly praying in anticipation of the gift He would soon give to me. God’s faithfulness was made plain in my parents and in different mentors who did not chastise me for focusing on the chocolate, but continued to show me something so much better until I finally started to see it.

Sometimes it takes a stark contrast to bring reality into focus. In the last few years I've come into contact with a lot of people in dismal circumstances. I've seen children who had no choice but to beg for survival, businessmen who had so much expendable income that they ended up drinking themselves unconscious, and everything in between. Recently, I met a woman who was strung out on some sort of substance. She was barely able to move or speak. I don’t know her story, and I don’t know what happened in her life that brought her to that point. What I do know, is that what she was chasing after was leaving her empty. That moment was the stark contrast I needed to see what was so clearly in front of me. This is the hope of a chocolate bunny- the world tries to convince us that this is as good as it gets, but it’s nothing but a hollow shell, a moment of enjoyment followed a lasting emptiness. True hope, however is this; “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And not only did God value us so much as to give up his only son for us, but he resurrected him to give us the hope of a new life- without these scars, chains and broken relationships. The empty tomb signifies the fullness of God's promises- these things that leave me empty will never be able to fill me the way this hollow rock has.

Now that I’ve tasted what God has to offer, I’ll never be content with just a hollow chocolate bunny on Easter.

Daniel