Happy Easter

In a world filled with so much darkness and suffering, it can be easy to fall into pessimism. At particular risk are those of us who pay close attention to the forces of evil at work in the world. Vigilance carries a price tag, and too often people with good intentions end up bitter, angry, and vengeful because all they focus on is the injustices in the world. But we must remember that there is more to the world than death and despair. There is light in the world as well as darkness, and if we spend too much time looking into the darkness we may end up suffocating in it. If we simply labor against the darkness, then we labor in vain. Trying to stop moral darkness is as pointless as trying to push physical darkness out of your house with your bare hands. You do not remove darkness, but rather replace it with light. We must understand the light as well as the dark if we stand a chance of reflecting it into the shadows.

Those of us who are Christians serve the Light of the world. We stand not just against the forces of evil but for our Redeemer. The day we set aside to remember Christ's resurrection seems as good a time as any to discuss this topic. The real story of Easter is that the hardest part is already finished. Jesus sacrificed himself on a cross and rose three days later so that the power of sin and death could be broken forever. Any challenges we face, from personal demons to conflicts between entire civilizations, pale in comparison.

Persecution is to be expected. Christ told the Church as much in John 15:18. But to become bitter or seek revenge is to miss the entire point of Christ's sacrifice. He didn't give his life so that the sinless people could have eternal life but so that the sinful and corrupt could be redeemed and made new. Even for those of you who are not Christians, the point still stands: people are capable of change. That is the entire reason we promote free will and individual liberty. It is often the enemies of truth become its greatest champions. Examples range from the Apostle Paul to former Communists like David Horowitz. It is the ideology and the evil actions promoted by that ideology that we must hate, but we must be willing to forgive our enemies. After all, if we do not expect to convince anyone of the rightness of our cause, why do we expend so much effort trying?

So happy Easter everyone. And God bless.