John 12:

The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

1 Cor 15:

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

For all the lies told about Christianity by liars and wicked men, for all the charlatans and false teachers that give false hope to the poor and beleaguered, and for all who have been harangued by ideologues of every kind, peel back all these and look at the pure, untainted core of The Way, The Truth, and the Life. Look to Jesus Christ Himself, and He shall give you rest. If you die with Him, you will surely be raised with Him. 1 Cor 15 continues on:

But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

God is not like a man that sits on the throne. He is not like an abusive or distant father. These may fail us, and these may damage the way we see the Heavenly Father, but God is love, and He is light, and in Him there is no darkness. He is not like Zeus or Odin or Pele or Amaterasu. He is the living God that desires to be in and through all, and made a way for us to become real boys and girls, living sons, that we may be healed and walk with Him as was the plan from the beginning.

And for my Christian brothers and sisters, take heart! We are called to die and rise every day:

I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

And the scorpion of death, the horseman of Hades, will not conquer us:

“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Happy Easter.