Life is hard.  We really need to remember that more often.  Scripture never tells us we live on easy street during our sojourn here.  Ever wonder why so many verses through the Bible are words of comfort or courage?  Ever notice how many words are directed to God's people walking a dangerous path?  Life is hard.  Easter doesn't even do away with difficulty for us.  Ours is indeed a Lord who is risen but He was a Savior rejected and killed before that.  Our tendency can be to sing songs about the blood of the cross without thinking through what that truly means.  Jesus died a inhumane awful death.  Our salvation is not simple but it is valuable. 

Easter is one of those times when there are more themes than there is time to cover.  We like Christmas because it has one main idea about God sending His son.  We can decorate, sing and party together to remember that birth.  Easter is a bit messier.  To get to Easter you have to go through crosses, blood and death.  You have to work with a story of betrayal, denial, torture and a finality that escapes our imagination.  One does not wander into the truth of this occasion without first getting messy.  Now it is my hope that lots of people show up in new clothes for a time of worship.  I enjoy seeing the new fashion as much as the next person.  But my heart always feels a bit of empty afterwards.  It is taking years to figure out there is no short cut to Easter. 

My reading for the week takes me to Psalm 31 which echoes so many of the ideas behind that first Easter.  You find the words of one who is suffering in this world while looking into eternity.  One academic said, " the intent of the speaker in the Psalm is to turn his problem into a problem for God."  He writes not of denial but a healthy recognition that only God can see him through.  You and I have no real power to ultimately change the future even when we obey.  It will always be God who does the true change in response to our heart for Him.  Maybe instead of seeking to escape the problem our best hope is to gain God's character from an open heart. 

Do you honestly trust God enough to put life in His hands?  Most of us do not which is a normal human trait.  We wonder somewhere in our being whether or not we can trust a God who would allow such trouble in our world.  Both the writer of the psalm and Jesus will move past that attitude to find God in the midst of their trial.  What makes the cross so powerful for us today is both who Jesus was and how He lived out God's purpose no matter the conditions.  The blood is more than plasma as it reveals the heart of God to forgive us.  The cross is more than an awful way to die when we see our sin placed in that sacrifice.  Easter is more than a holiday as we accept a God who is limitless in grace.  None of this is ever easy but it is essential.  Life is hard.  Life without God is beyond that truth.

Bro. Trey