Easter Moment

My Easter moment this year came while watching an old TV episode of Northern Exposure.
Maggie O'Connell's mother visits her in their make-believe rural town of Cicely, Alaska.
Maggie's TV mom is determined to have her daughter's life take a more interesting path than her own.
She uses a cliche or two to say, "be different, Maggie - be adventurous!"

And her bemused daughter retorts, "Mom - I'm a bush pilot...in Alaska!"

It's the same with Christians and the unrelenting onslaught of our "lower 48" spiritual mothers.
They visit us in our homes and schools, dressed as news commentators and professors. They shake their heads over our boring beliefs and conservative world views.
"Be different, be adventurous," they admonish. "Break loose from your conventional religious trappings and experience something truly inspirational!"

"You have got to be kidding," I retorted today, the day after Easter.

"I believe in radical Grace. What could be more unconventional than the redemption of my sin-filled life by the atoning death of a Savior, foretold for centuries, and in great detail, by prophets? What inspires more than the realization that Jesus' own disciples were willing to die as martyrs, simply for saying he was the real deal? Who is taking the bigger leap - the person who hopes their good works outweigh their bad, or the person who realizes their only shot at salvation is through forgiveness and mercy ?

"Mom - I'm a bush pilot...in Alaska!"


What do you believe?