resurrection

Easter morning: My eyes pop open to the strains of the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. My sister and I know to expect Bev Gallucci's version of "He's Alive" next, and that means one thing.

It's one of the few mornings a year sleep holds no temptation for us. As Bev's soprano voice reaches notes in the stratosphere, my dad bursts into the room. He sings at the top of his lungs with a goofy grin. "He's alive!"

A few months ago I shared some of my favorite Christmas traditions including our family "Christmas Candles." Well, just in case the title didn't give it away, we also have Easter candles!

Do we have a theology of failure? Not of suffering, but of failure.

We tell one another, "God will work all things out for good." Or, "It wasn't meant to be. God has something else in store for you." And those may be true, but is that all we've got?

I love Christmas, because the Incarnation of Christ boggles my mind. That the second Person of the Trinity would choose to live as we live, be tempted and tried as we are, and love and delight in us, as flawed and base as we are...astounds me.

Imagine with me if you will the new earth.

Picture lush gardens amid the most beautiful architecture. Ivy and morning glories wrap around chiseled, stone walls. Silver and glass walls glisten in the light and reflect the surrounding trees. Rose bushes, sans thorns of course, border a bamboo hut.

Picture flowing streams of water and juicy mangoes ripening on the trees.

About a decade ago, the catchword became relevance. "But is the ministry relevant?" we all asked. It was--and is--a good question. After all, Jesus became man in order to be relevant. The man knew his communication theory.

Though the term's not as in fashion anymore, the way we act and think betrays our commitment to relevance, especially in science and art (I use the term here broadly). The problem is, when we stop here, we get caught up in trends and fads. As Christians, we are relevant, but we should be beyond relevant.