Good Enough
by Kimberly B. Southall
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Is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ good enough for you? That sounds like a ridiculous question, particularly when directed toward a Christian. The answer which would follow would be, "Of course!" But when the Passover season rolls around each year and Christ's church puts a little more emphasis on the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, I hear His resurrection referred to as "Easter," and I see far too many bunnies and eggs creeping into the church scene. And I wonder why.

Many people don't realize why calling Christ's resurrection by the term "Easter" is wrong. And I can certainly understand that, because until someone explained it to me, I didn't know any better, either. "Easter" is the name of a false goddess. Sad but true. (If you would like more information on the origins of the traditions of "Easter," you can read them online at http://www.OneWayOnly.net/easter.html.) And you can be certain that Jesus' apostles and other followers of Bible times did not refer to His resurrection as "Easter." Did you know that God's Word specifically forbids us from such a practice?
 

Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips. --Exodus 23:13 (NIV)

That "do not," directly from God, is as plain as it gets. We are not to let the names of false gods to be heard on our lips, much less refer to the resurrection of Jesus Christ with the name of a false goddess! Think about what it really means to God when we do so. Again, I understand if someone who has never had this explained to them erroneously refers to the resurrection of Christ as "Easter." But what about those who do know better and do it anyway? That's when I begin to wonder what they could be thinking. Isn't Christ's sacrifice good enough for them? Why is there a need to add not only the worldly bunnies and decorated eggs to His resurrection, but to also refer to His supreme sacrifice with the name of a false goddess? I just cannot comprehend why anyone would knowingly choose to do this.

Have you ever given serious thought to this? Think about Jesus, sinless, being "framed" in an illegal court. Think about Him being brutally beaten. Think about Him being mocked, spit upon, and having some of his beard ripped out (Isaiah 50:6). Think about Him having a crown of thorns crushed upon His head (Matthew 27:28-29; Mark 15:17). Think about His long walk carrying the cross after He had already been beaten (John 19:17). Think about His collapsing beneath the load of the cross so that someone else had to finish carrying it for Him (Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21). Think about Jesus' hands and feet being nailed (nailed!!!) onto a rough, wooden cross. Think about that cross being lifted and then suddenly being dropped into the hole with a jerk--oh, how that must have hurt, with the nails ripping through the flesh even more. Think about how Jesus labored for each and every breath on that cross while passers by mocked and ridiculed Him. Think about how He must have felt as He watched His mother weep at the foot of the cross (John 19:26-27). Think about why He went through all of this. It wasn't because He had done anything wrong. It wasn't because He was powerless to stop it. It was because He chose to do it. For you. For me. For us all. And He didn't do it for us because we deserved it. He did it only because He knew we couldn't do it for ourselves, and He loved us that much.

So ask yourself: "Was Jesus' sacrifice good enough?" Or does His resurrection need some man-made "improvements"--say a bunny here, a decorated egg there, and why not call His supreme sacrifice by the name of a false goddess? I think not. I know this article won't be popular with some readers, but that doesn't excuse me from the obligation to share the truth. And no matter what anyone else thinks, I know that the sacrifice Jesus made was good enough. And there isn't anything that I, you, or anyone else could ever do to "improve" His sacrifice.

What about you? Do you think His death, burial, and resurrection was good enough?

Copyright © 2001 Kimberly B. Southall. All rights reserved.