I love it when folks keep it real. That's why I love Paul's thought in 1 Corinthians 15:19. "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." This man who traveled the world and suffered much to share the gospel (by definition good news) was responding to those who said there's nothing beyond this life and contested that Jesus actually rose from the dead. His response was, if this good news of Christ's death and resurrection is only beneficial for me in this life, I'm a fool and not only that, all who claim faith in Christ are fools.
Somehow I'm comforted by this. At times I've wondered if what I believe is foolish but usually not too long after I'm reminded why I believe. I can't quite describe it but there's a peace in the deepest part of me that confirms that there's truth in what happened 2,000 years ago on a cross in Jerusalem. And in what early Christians claimed happened three days later in the resurrection of Christ. My soul and heart find peace because I'm a beneficiary of his act on the cross. That's why Christians celebrate Easter. Why they reflect and look back - because they are grateful for what Christ, the divine, did for them the unworthy sinner on the cross.
