He Is Risen – A Complex Simplicity

Church services, time with family and friends, too much food, a new dress or hat, and maybe even an Easter egg hunt… All of these things make Easter special. While we tend to do Christmas up ‘right’ in western culture, Christ’s resurrection is the very hub of our faith. This central event drives everything else we believe in, for without the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our hope is nothing more than human indulgence at best; a pathetic farce at worst.

Of course, we all know this. There is no question in the mind of a true believer that Jesus, as the incarnate God of the universe, chose to die and then came back to life again so that our sins might be atoned for. We read it, pray it, sing it. It is part of the very fabric of our faith.

But the philosopher in me likes to ponder this mystery. It is so complex. I wonder if we’ve become so accustomed to this TRUTH, that we miss the amazing complexity of what God has done. Every event leading up to the resurrection – even as far back as the garden – was orchestrated toward this one, focal point. The complexities of God’s plan as laid out in His word baffle the mind. It is beyond our human comprehension that the Creator of all living things would be willing to sacrifice Himself for the sake of such a rebellious and stubborn creation. He could just as easily have wiped the slate clean and started over. Instead, He chose to make a way where there was no way.

It is in this thought that we also see the simplicity of it all. God’s complex schematic for man’s redemption has a very simple application. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved. Period.

Like a flower or a snowflake, the simple beauty of God’s creation actually showcases the complexity of its construction. So it is with the resurrection. Simple complexity or complex simplicity. Whichever way you look at it, it remains the most amazing and awe inspiring event of all time.

“For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16