I see that the Church has kindly reposted a commentary I wrote on Easter! I really liked that one. I’m not always the biggest fan of my own writing, but I tried to make that one simple and straightforward, since I thought that would be the best way for it to have its intended impact. Here are the first few paragraphs:
Because He Is Risen, I Do Not Keep Easter
I believe in the risen Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of mankind. I believe that after His crucifixion on Passover, He was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth—as He said He would be. I believe He was then resurrected by His Father, restored to the glory He had with His Father before the world was.
He was the perfect Passover Lamb. He also became the perfect wave sheaf offering, accepted by His Father as the first of the firstfruits. In His resurrection, I see confirmation of the promise made to all those who truly follow Him that they, too, will one day be resurrected to live forever as He now does.
Consequently, I do not keep Easter.
Read the rest here: “Because He Is Risen, I Do Not Keep Easter”
It was actually a commentary that was conceived as a post on my blog. That remains one of the benefits of this blog, which is the chance to write without the pressure of being as polished as I would strive to be for one of our Church publications or websites while still staying in a “writing mode” and being able to ruminate with pen and paper (well, keyboard and LCD screen) in such a way that I can explore some topics I might write about in the future. I’ve said before that I don’t have a “dog in the hunt”, as it were, concerning my blog, and if it interfered with the other work I have to do or was somehow unhelpful, I’d be content to stop doing it. But this is one way in which I’ve found it really helpful.
Thoughts En Route 
I’m not always the biggest fan of my own writing…
Yeah, I noticed. Can’t imagine why. Aside from the fact that even when you ramble I enjoy the results, sometimes you just have to let the spaghetti factory explode. 😉
Well, I do empathize. I’m not always the world’s best supporter of my own writing, either. So to hear some unexpected compliment from an editor of some of it made me blush, it was so encouraging. Not a bad side note to this past Sabbath… 🙂 I hope you find my liking of your writing equally encouraging.
Very succinctly put. Just like your article on Christmas, when you said:
“Why I don’t keep Christmas…stated briefly, I do not keep Christmas because I refuse to disobey Christ in order to worship Him.”
Pingback: Easter, Resurrection and the Trail 033113 | Mennonite Preacher
A couple of quotes by Mark Twain: “The time to begin writing is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is that you really want to say.” “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.”
Ha! Both very good quotes, Steve. The first must explain why I can’t wait to get to the script I have already turned in that I am taping this Thursday and rewrite part of it. Now I know what I want to say! And as for the second quote, so true. That’s part of why I ironically write more when I am in haste. As Blaise Pascal once wrote (I paraphrase): I have written a long letter because I did not have the time to write a short one. 🙂