I don't know about you, but I still wonder about the original story. If I were there with those disciples, I'm sure I would have been quite skeptical. I would also have thought the story was too good to be true. After all, dead people stay dead. I always think it's encouraging that the inner circle of Jesus- His closest ministry companions and friends- struggled to get a handle on the resurrection of Jesus, even though He had prepared them for it. They had been with Him for three years, walked with Him from town to town as He healed others and preformed miracles, listened to hundreds of hours of His teaching, and still, in this moment, they thought the resurrection was "nonsense!" To believe the resurrection is completely true means it is so much more than just a "nice metaphor" for the possibilities of new life or a fairy tale. It requires a real leap of faith on our part to believe it is completely true and has the power to change our lives here and now and forever. The resurrection gives us hope- that our past is redeemed, our present is transformed, and our future is secured.
