I have always been fascinated by the great leaders of human history. A bit of a hobby of mine has been to dive into their backgrounds, understand their thinking, understand their environment, what challenges they faced. I have always wondered, what was the key thing behind their successful movement? Why have they been remembered for hundreds, even thousands of years?
Throughout all of history there just can be no comparison to the influence of Jesus Christ. We will probably never know his real name, nor much about him as a person. However, his influence is unmistakable. Many non-christian religions will even create a place for his existence in their own dogma, so as to deal with the fact that he had such a profound influence on our society. He embodies the hero myth. He is the archetype by which we compare story.
Clearly his influence will continue for a long time to come. Christianity became the dominant world religion in a relatively short period of time and will probably continue that way for a least another century or so. Unless you consider self aggrandizing a world religion and then I think the denomination of Facebook/Instagram may be in the top spot in short order. I am not going to spend time considering truth, or the merits of Christianity versus other major religions. What I am thinking about this morning is this concept of Resurrection.
I suppose that is ultimately what would separation a “christian” from someone who just recognized Jesus as a great teacher and leader. Those the believe he actually rose from the dead three days after his execution, would be adherents I suppose. However the concept of resurrection is by no means a Christian one. The concept of coming back to life after death has been around since Adam walked out of the Forest, since that little fish grew legs.
The concept of a dying God coming back to life has been influential in the Middle East, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Zen Buddhism, and Hollywood. Ok. My little joke there but seriously, how many Zombie movies and shows have we had this last 10 years? The point is that I believe our society is actually obsessed with the concept of Anastasis, or the coming of life again.
I suppose that makes sense. We die. Ugly thought. Our consciousness ceases, this mind full of thoughts, dreams and aspiration will one day stop functioning. The nerve endings will stop firing and that thing that is you will be gone, forever – or will it? I suppose THAT is the question that keeps humanity diving into this concept of resurrection, immortality and pre and post existence.
Perhaps some of the world religions are so popular because the effectively teach what we all want to believe and that is that our consciousness, what is us, will continue on in a new form – effectively to be resurrected ourselves.
Why I am I writing this little dissertation on comparative world religions this morning? Well partially because I had every Christian church in the valley knock on my door yesterday trying to convince me to attend their Easter service. The reason is this – we do not have to wait until we are dead to experience rebirth.
The powerful allure of Christianity is not just a Christian concept. Jesus did a great job of teaching it, but this is not a concept that is exclusive to Christians. You can own this belief regardless of what religion you belong to, or even if you do not. You can start fresh, you can wake tomorrow morning and begin again. You can achieve greatness, you can become something and someone new. You can become a new person, a better person, a more powerful person. A person focused on the right things for the right reasons.
If you believe in the actual resurrection of Jesus Christ, then great. You can use this day to renew your own spirit. If you do not, that is fine. However, seems like a good day to experience your own rebirth right now. Tomorrow the sun will shine. The world will continue to spin. All the travails and concerns of mankind will still exist. What will you be? Who will you become tomorrow, and day 1 or 101 of your transformation?
It is time for you to rise up. Rise up and become the person you know that you can become. Rise to the expectation of your future self. Rise early tomorrow and start a new. Rise.
Guy Reams
365 Alumni
43 Days Left
