Resurrecting a Victorious Christian Faith for Easter and Beyond

 If only I had known in my younger years how rich and vibrant the history of our Christian faith truly is. As Dr. Brad Jersak might say, we have been robbed of much of the beauty that the Church once knew and celebrated.

With Easter just six weeks away, I want to recommend a book that has profoundly shaped my understanding of our faith: Resurrecting Easter. This book is one of my favorites, not only for its top-tier scholarship and meticulous research but also for its accessibility. It presents some of the most striking and lesser-known depictions of our faith—images you may never have encountered and might never have the opportunity to see in person.

For those seeking to explore the roots of Christian belief beyond Western traditions, Resurrecting Easter is particularly insightful. It reveals how, relatively early on, Western Christianity began to diverge from the established Orthodox thought of the early Church. This divergence had a significant impact on Christian art in the West, leading to the portrayal of a terrifying afterlife—imagery completely foreign to Eastern Christians, who remained steadfast in their vision of Christ’s victory and humanity’s resurrection with Him (see the book’s cover).

On a similar note, Dr. J. W. Hanson, commenting on the artwork found in the catacombs of the earliest Christians, wrote:

“The Catacombs give us the views of the unlearned, as Clement and Origen state the doctrine of scholars and teachers. Not a syllable is found hinting at the horrors of Augustinianism, but the inscription on every monument harmonizes with the Universalism of the early fathers.”

First published in 2018, Resurrecting Easter was one of the first books that revealed to me the richness, stability, and legitimacy of the earliest Christian faith—a faith I sadly did not inherit in my own upbringing.

I hope you’ll consider reading this book during the upcoming Easter season.

One final thought: I find Hanson’s statement particularly fascinating. His research demonstrates that both the average believer (“the unlearned”) and the scholars (e.g., Clement and Origen) shared a victorious vision of the afterlife—one that stood in stark contrast to the later "horrors of Augustinianism." While Hanson’s book provides the historical context for this, Resurrecting Easter as its own work graphically proves his point in a way that is both compelling and deeply moving.

Grace = Peace,

Jeremy

God's "Wrath": A Matter of Perception

God's "Wrath": A Matter of Perception

The word "righteous" in Greek (dikaios) also means "innocent." However, Scripture tells us that the Law cannot make a person righteous (see Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16; 3:11). Why? Because the Law can only bring condemnation and death (see 2 Corinthians 3:7, 9); it cannot declare anyone innocent.

Those who try to find peace with God by relying on their obedience to the Law will never find lasting peace. This is because they are living under a system that condemns rather than justifies. When a person fails, they know they’ve fallen short. Even when they do good, they feel they could have done better. This mindset puts the burden on the individual and often fuels pride, which is why the religious leaders in Jesus' time were so prideful, despite their inner struggles, as Paul described in his own experience.

True peace comes to those who know Christ and their union with Him. In Christ, they are declared innocent. To experience this lasting peace and sense of innocence, one must fully grasp and trust in their union with Him. A person's sense of guilt, rather than innocence, is what makes them perceive God's "wrath."

Norman Grubb offers a profound definition of God's wrath, showing that it’s all about a person's perspective, not God's actual nature. God Himself remains eternally innocent:

"The wrath of God is only manifest in those who have the wrong relationship to Him. It is not Him as He is, who is all love. But it is what He must appear to be to those who run counter to the law of His being. The wrath operates in them, not in Him. They projected on Him a rejection which was really in themselves. And this is the wrath of God. All He said was, ‘Where are you, Adam? Come out from your hiding, I haven’t changed.’ And when they came, He talked with them, not in judgment and wrath, but in mercy. All He told them was that they would experience the inevitable effects of the discords self-loving self always brings on itself."

According to Grubb, God's wrath originates in the person’s own mind, not in God. It stems from a misperceived relationship. Grubb explains further, saying, "they projected onto Him a rejection that was really in themselves."

We often believe that God is against us, difficult to approach, and prone to rejecting us, but these are merely reflections of our own internal conflicts, which are driven by a legalistic mindset that never declares us fully innocent. The Law only strengthens sin against us and keeps us trapped (see 1 Corinthians 15:56).

Scripture says no one has known the Father except for Christ, who revealed Him. This suggests that the Old Testament, including the prophets' words about God, must be understood through the lens of Jesus. Scripture is "inspired" only insofar as it points to Christ. As the early Church recognized, there is a great danger in idolizing Scripture if it is elevated to the same level as Jesus Himself.

The revelation of God the Father through Jesus far surpasses everything the prophets said. In His dealings with us, God remains innocent. He is not the angry, distant, hard-to-please deity we may have been taught to fear. That image of God is a creation of a deceived mind, and it is difficult to let go of, especially as long as religious institutions continue to use fear to control God’s children. They withhold the knowledge and Spirit of the freedom that belongs to the mature sons and daughters of the King.

Grace and peace,

Jeremy

We Is Risen

As we near the culmination of Holy Week, I’d like to briefly share some thoughts on some of the significance of this time.

We all are likely aware that this past Sunday was a celebration of Palm Sunday, that day when Christ entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, fulfilling Zechariah 9:9 – “Behold your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey.”

But I’m not sure that we realize the significance of the verse that follows: “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of war will be cut off” (verse 10).

At the very same time Jesus entered Jerusalem from the Eastern Gate, the Roman governor, Pilate, entered through the Western Gate. Pilate would have been riding a war horse and accompanied in full military armor by his troops. By simultaneously entering the opposite side of the city, Pilate’s message would have clear: “You can have your feast and celebration, but any attempt to rebel against Rome’s might will be dealt with swiftly and severely.”

Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem was a direct, peaceful statement against not only Rome’s power, but also that of the Jewish religious authorities. Ultimately, the powers that be (Pilate, as Caesar’s representative; Caiaphas, the high priest; Herod, the Jewish vassal king) collaborated against the Lamb of God.

Jesus offered no soldiers or threat of violence--no coercion or power to lord over others. His humble entry offers a glimpse at a new way of life possible for us. He offers his own life as the foundation for us to experience gentleness, humility, consideration, and trust for safety and provision. Again, these strike at the root of what the world offers us: fear, division, violence, idolatry, and the lust of power and abuse of people for our own selfish purposes (physical, sexual, emotional, or otherwise). Jesus would have us know that none of those characteristics are worthy of praise, admiration, or adoration. Those behaviors inevitably and ultimately lead to destruction.

As we celebrate these last few days of Holy Week, may I humbly suggest that we remind ourselves of the Father’s humble entry into our lives? He does not control or coerce. Whereas Pilate entered a city to enforce a system of domination, Christ enters our heart so we would for the first time know love, peace, and true freedom. For us to experience these and so much more, we must lay down our methods and defenses we’ve used to protect our *own* life and happiness, trust that our Father is in fact good, and humbly accept the free and generous gift of…himself. 

Pilate enforced control and ultimately abuse; Christ brings mutual relationship and ultimately healing from what is in reality our *own* destructive ways—a freedom not saturated with selfish motives.

May the King of Glory come in and may we know his love and our resurrection *with* him this coming Sunday.

We is risen.

Why Seeking Happiness As Your Goal in Life Fails

As long as happiness in life is your goal, you will always end up dissatisfied. Auschwitz death camp survivor, Viktor Frankl, stated: "It is the very pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness. The more one makes happiness an aim, the more he misses the aim.”

Tragically, those who make happiness their goal usually resort to the same methods they've always tried in life. As we have noted, if you plant more of the "same" in your life, you get more of the "same."

This means that most us of have a pretty large learning curve; we keep trying to find happiness and satisfaction in life by our means, our wisdom, our efforts. We think to ourselves: "Money will make me happy." "These drugs will make me happy." "This relationship will make me happy." "This exciting and thrilling adventure will make me happy." "This job will make me happy."

Happiness comes only from what *happens* to you. Therefore, your mood will always be dependent on something external to you. That is a very precarious and unstable way to live. We long for--and were created for--a deeper, more permanent source.

Money, power, and sex ultimately fail to bring us fulfillment and satisfaction; even less so happiness.

They don't. Because they can't. You were made for something, Someone more.

Happiness, joy, and life satisfaction only come through knowing our Father. And the reason we went to all those other things was not because we had a sinful nature. On the contrary, our actions are evidence of a good nature created for relationship with the Father. The reason we sin and seek satisfaction in all those areas is because we don't really know the Father. We have believed a lie about him and that lie misguided us. We went off course thinking we would find what we wanted; thinking we were right.

"The spiritual life is about the liberation of God from our images of him.” - John O'Donohue

Grow in knowing the Father and his love for you and you'll stop behaviors that take you away from him and community. You'll see why certain actions were both unwise and unhealthy. Stop trying to solve your desires by planting more of the "same" in your life. Its fruit is obvious and predictable. Allow instead the seed of Christ's life and Christlike love to grow in you. Guard it and watch the results. Scripture promises you won't be put to shame or disappointed.

MacDonald on Loving One's Enemies

George MacDonald commented on Jesus' command to love our enemies, asking if our love for an enemy should be based simply on the fact that they, too, are human. No, he said. There is something deeper. It is because in them God has joined his divinity to their humanity.

He wrote:

"Why should we love our enemies? ...  It is in virtue of the divine essence which is in them that that we call our enemies men and women. It is this humanity that we are to love—something deeper altogether than, and independent of, the region of hate. “Is this humanity in every one of our enemies?” Yes, else there were nothing to love. Then we must love it, come between us and it what may.

But how can we love a man or a woman who is cruel and unjust to us? Who sears with contempt, who is self-righteous, self-seeking, self-admiring? Who can even sneer, the most inhuman of human faults, far worse in its essence than mere murder? These things cannot be loved. But are these the man? Lies there not within him a divine element of brotherhood, something which, once awakened to be its own holy self in the man, will loathe these unlovely things tenfold more than we loathe them now? Shall this divine thing have no recognition from us? Say rather, “My love shall come as near thee as it may; and when thine comes forth to meet mine, we shall be one in the indwelling God.”

MacDonald's understanding of the true nature of humanity starkly contrasted with the strict Calvinist environment of his childhood. He knew his own earthly father to be completely unlike the angry and wrathful God presented to him by religion. It was because of this difference in views that MacDonald was able to not only draw the best out of others through stories and imagination (just as Jesus did), but it is also why his hope for humanity's end was far more positive. I suggest it's that positive faith which undergirded his encouragement to us to love our enemies. MacDonald knew that ultimately, God would be all in all. As Scripture tells us, God is faithful to finish his work in us. That is true of both us and our enemies. We have no other reason but to love.

Consuming Fire : The Inexorable Power of God’s Love : A Devotional Version of Unspoken Sermons. 2015. North Charleston SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Love Notices Quality

A cousin of mine once worked in a bank. She told me after she handled cash for a time, she knew simply by touch if she had come across a counterfeit bill. Her familiarity with the *real* enabled a sense of the *false.* It is the same with love. However, we've become all too familiar with false love. So much so that *true* love is strange to us at first. False love is the type of love culture and society tells us to pursue and is, in reality, not love at all. It's candy-coated selfishness that seeks satisfaction through physical means (e.g., sex, possessions, accomplishment, and prestige).

Jesus, because he *knew* the Father's kind of love, never gave into what the world offered to him.

Japanese Christian theologian Kosuke Koyama writes:

"Love is an inner energy of man which makes him perceptive to the presence of good and bad in human relationships. And love is committed to encourage the good and discourage the bad to grow anywhere. It is the mind of God at work. So often the New Testament writers write: ‘And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, ...’ (Mark 2.8). Jesus was not a magician. He is perceptive to what is going on in the hearts of men because he loves them."

May our pursuit be to always be the object of God's fatherly love and to know and experience that love in ever greater ways, so that we, like Jesus, will not be satisfied with the anemic, false love which our society and culture panders to us. If we do this, we will love and protect in the same way our Father does and the world will take note and begin to ask why we love differently...and far better and truer than what they've ever known.

May we have high (i.e., godly) standards for the love we pursue and practice in all our relationships.

Safe from Yourself

 I just wanted to share something I'm cooking today:

In life we all have the basic need to be seen, soothed, safe, and secure. Most people can say they had parents who tried reasonably well to provide all four of those for us. I want to touch on the matter of being safe for just a moment.

Even with their best efforts, many parents may not have been aware there was one important way to keep us safe:  that is, from ourselves.

Sure, they taught us not to stick anything into an electric outlet or to look both ways before we cross the street, but they couldn't as easily address our basic need to keep ourselves safe from our own thoughts.

I'd encourage you to set some time aside soon, if not today, to review and renovate how you think about yourself. We all are experts at conveying negative messages to ourselves. It takes intention, time, and solitude to reverse the effects of such negativity.

You are lovable and you are loved. You make a difference and you belong. You are a unique expression of the life of Christ, who created, fills, and sustains all things. Be intentional to make the time to retrain your mind and body to undo the unsafe messages you sent yourself. You are safe in the arms of a loving, giving, comforting Father, even if that wasn't your model on Earth, or even of yourself.