If the church has left you high and dry, spiritually drained, fearful, let's discuss a few ways to celebrate Christ's resurrection.
Whew! Typing out that title was a tough one. It felt near sinful, to be honest. Yet, so many Christians, those who know the heart of God and find it endearing, emulating Christ's promises, were still hurt, scarred, spiritually maimed, under the steeple. They want to celebrate Christ's resurrection, the ground-breaking, earth-shaking moment that let grace run free, but they aren't sure that walking through the church doors will be anything close to, well, freedom.
In my little writing world, I'm honest and vulnerable about my experiences with church. Growing up, particularly in my tween and teenage years, my family went to an unhealthy church, a place ruled by fear, manipulation, and unbiblical "truths". In short, it was a cult curated by a well-designed mask of Christ, a hollowed image of His great beauty. Since then, since stepping away from a place that induced fear, a place kick-starting my clinical Mental Thoughts & Taboo Rituals OCD (also known as "religious" OCD), attending church has been a feat for me. Unfortunately, it can often serve as a trigger.
Perhaps you didn't grow up in a cult environment, but a pastor who swore to love God led your family astray. Maybe judgment reigned supreme in pews meant to welcome the least of these but didn't. If the church has left you high and dry, spiritually drained, fearful, let's discuss a few ways to celebrate Christ's resurrection:
1. Honor His Life with Love
I love celebrating Christ's resurrection in the springtime; it's a true beauty-from-ash experience. Just as blooms burst through plants we weren't sure would survive the winter, Christ Jesus defied death's odds and invites each of us to bloom, despite life's thorns. One of the best ways to celebrate Easter, even if the idea of church attendance leaves a pit in your stomach, is to honor Christ's life with love.
Each of us has thorns, whether physical, mental, spiritual, relational, financial, you name it! Yet, as Christ-followers, we honor His sacrifice by submitting to Love, stepping into tough spaces, embracing roughed-up people, who need to know that God calls them worthy. They, too, can bloom and burst through this season with beautiful purpose.
While life, light, and love seem to be easy for Christians to remember around Easter, when days are longer, the sun burns brighter, and winter's bite has faded, let's challenge ourselves to showcase God's goodness by letting Love lead us throughout the year, regardless of the seasons of the earth or the seasons of our hearts.
2. Sacrifice Your Routine for Christ's Rhythm
Growing up in a church centered on man and his power, I was never taught to sacrifice earthly routines for the sake of Christ's rhythm, a sure, steady ebb and flow that invites us to embody freedom, regardless of circumstances. After all, His resurrection served two purposes: 1. to restore our relationship with the Father and 2. to draw us to Himself.
Often, when we have attended a church that manipulates financial giving, demands a near-impossible dress code, separates the sheep from the goats without Scripture as a guide, it's hard to identify Christ's rhythm, what He would have us do day in and day out while on earth. I encourage you to hold each aspect of your spiritual routine to the light, the Light. Assess why you're reading Scripture. Is it to check the box or else God's thunderbolts will hail from the sky? Or do you read Scripture to find peace amid trials, to navigate even the steadiest seasons, and to better learn the character of your good, kind Father?
Consider tithing. Do you give your ten percent because someone behind the pulpit threatens you with God's wrath unless you donate an extra fifteen percent? Or do you give to embody the hands and feet of Christ, ensuring others are well fed, well clothed, and able to fully hear the Gospel without grumbling stomachs and cold, aching bones blocking their belief in a good God?
Read your Bible. Tithe. Do these things consistently. But, to celebrate Christ's resurrection and the power He gave to us, let's ensure we are obeying Christ's rhythm, which always operates in love--and let's avoid checking boxes to please an unhealthy church culture.
3. Respect the Miracle
The church I grew up in was your Bible-beating stereotype. Nothing was done in love. It was as if we were called to live under the law of the man in a suit and tie, the one who shook hands with everyone at the end of the service and swore he loved us. This hypocritical culture made me wary of "evangelizing". It made me feel uncomfortable. In short, I knew God. I wanted others to love Christ and go to heaven. But my way of sharing Truth would look different.
Instead, I respect the miracle of Christ's resurrection by allowing my evangelizing to take a less dogmatic route. I never compromise the truth, but showing others Jesus requires more than condemnation. Instead, my words are prayed over, thought through, and aligned with actions. Rather than yelling "turn or burn!" to anyone who thinks differently than me, I recall how Jesus approached others while on earth. He met them where they were, hosting conversations with them, talking life, and then, meeting the soul's need for Good News.
Perhaps the greatest compliment I ever have and will receive on earth came from a casual conversation I had with a friend a few months ago. Last year, my husband, Josh, and I were outside on our apartment's mini patio chalk-painting an old desk. We noticed another couple our age moving into the building and offered to help. We struck up a conversation, invited them to knock on our door anytime they needed us. A few months later, we were each other's dearest friends.
One day, Denise and I were discussing how God-sent this friendship was for both us and our husbands. Denise was sharing how crucial it is for them to have godly friends. "You know how you just know when people know God?" she asked, further explaining that she knew Josh and I were Christians without anyone saying anything regarding faith and belief-- that, that there, is how I respect the miracle.
I am perfect by no means, and still, honestly, I dodge big church services when my headspace is foggy. But, I strive to live my life in a way that others don't question the Miracle, but, rather, they believe it because, though not tangible, though none of us can travel back in time to 30 A.D., Christ becomes so real in us others know He is the God who was placed in a tomb but rose again three days later. He is a God who chose life not only for His Son but for all of us.
We respect the miracle when we allow His life to permeate us. Often, it's as simple as paying the homeless person on the corner of the busy intersection enough respect to make eye contact and smile. It's holding the door, teeth chattering from the bitter cold, until the elderly couple gets inside the restaurant first. It's asking the waitress about her tattoo or complimenting the waiter's ability to bring you a train of fresh rolls.
It's noticing why Christ came to earth, died the most brutal death, and rose again. The why is hidden behind meeting people where they are and ensuring that they know hope is available to all of us, Christ's hope.
To be frank, I still encourage you to go to church--not just on Easter but throughout the year. There's an extra Jesus magic that floods your soul when hundreds of believers gather to edify God's name. But, maybe, this year, you start small. Try a small group first, testing the waters of a more relaxed style, getting the feel of these church people while they are away from the church building. Check out an online service to ensure their worship aligns with Scripture but offers minimal triggers (which is how I was able to get back into church).
Give God's people a try. Give those running from God a try. Let's remember that Easter calls us to not only remember Christ's great miracle, rising from the grave and defeating hell forever, but it calls us to live through that miracle today. And every day.
Happy Easter, friends. To those who bust open church doors and those who would rather tiptoe out the back door and never come back. God's goodness invites us all to celebrate His death-defying love.
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