Easter is just a lie about a happy ending for a self proclaimed Messiah

I'd like for you take a moment to read from this man what the "True Meaning of Easter" is:

The real victory, marked by Easter's pageantry, is a rewriting of history.  In the Jesus Story, something divine is born into the human family.  Rising up from lowly circumstances, he tours the country, mesmerizing crowds and comforting the afflicted.  Those who knew him and loved him are crushed when his ministry is ended with an arrest, beatings, a trial, a conviction and immediate execution.  That story is an indictment of life.  How could such a thing happen?  How could somebody this kind, this gentle, this understanding and this talented get snuffed like this? 

The answer provided is an interesting twist.  Rather than allow the story to end on a down note (Romans Kill Jesus), the Gospels have Jesus rise from the dead.  It doesn't change history... the story of Jesus would be the story of yet another self-proclaimed messiah who ended up as bait.

It's almost American in its obsession to give a happy ending to an otherwise dreary story...Easter is the willful adoption of the lie.  No more obvious example can be found of theists in denial...There is no ontological difference, the risen Christ and the Easter Bunny, except that one is for adults while the other is for children.

http://community.beliefnet.com/go/thread/view/43861/14231817/?pg=last

I sat in the Kia dealership today, waiting for the oil to be changed in my car, for over 2 and half hours. While I got a lot read of my book, I wasn't a very happy person. About an hour into my wait time, I overheard the mechanic at the counter talking to his fellow coworker:

I just' bout blew it with my wife! I almost said to her- Hey, I'm going golfing on Sunday! Then realized, d----, it's Easter! She's gunna make me stay round and do all that family sh-- with the kids!

That's when I slapped myself- Ah, today is Good Friday! I sat there, in that uncomfortable faux leather chair, thinking about Christ. I walked through all of it in my mind- Oh, how many times have I heard it? But somehow, it never gets old. Especially today. Then I realized... to that man, behind the counter, Easter is just a crazy day full of candy, unruly kids fighting over plastic Easter eggs, and his wife making him stay around the house. Today? He's thinking about work, lunch, and unsatisfied customers. And Jesus, who took the mechanic's place on a brutal cross (just as much as He'd taken my place), won't even cross his mind. If it does, it won't be a thought worth pondering over; if anything, it'll be a thought dealt with rejection. 

It's hard for me to fathom a God, perfect and holy in every way, would consider sending his only, and just as perfect and holy son to endure the punishment I, a sinful by nature errant creation, deserve. I sink in my chair, feeling pretty unworthy, but also completely grateful for this precious, precious gift. How can I not commit my life to Him? Who am I to even consider for a moment not accepting what He's offered to me?

Then I consider all of those who don't accept the gift, who choose for there to be no difference between the Easter bunny and Jesus. Today is just another friday, an insignificant friday not worth remembering anything over. Then Sunday will approach and the secular activities will commence. Sure, some will drag themselves to church, because something in them tells them they're suppose to, there may be a few reference to "Jesus" tossed around the dinner table in a quick prayer over the food... but how many truly observe Christ, what he did so that we might live, and then through a miracle rose from the grave? I don't believe many consciously will, and I can't help but blame myself. What am I actively doing every day to share with others what's available to them? Maybe that mechanic behind the counter doesn't know what today represents because no one has made any effort to share it with him.

This weekend is our chance to give a little good news to everyone we come across. A "Happy Easter" is just an outstanding invitation for an explanation to your joy. Shouting out "He is Risen!" or quoting a Bible verse may not be the best way to share Jesus with someone. Maybe the answer for someone lies in the testimony of your life, your personal relationship, your astonishment of what the God of the universe has done for you.

It hits me the hardest when I actually imagine myself hanging on a cross. I've tried to think of something more "modern"... but nothing comes close to the cross. There were things Jesus had to endure by being hung on a cross that no one with the death penalty has to endure today. And see, that's what I deserve. And if Jesus didn't take my place, that's what would have happened to me... I have to be punished for my rebelliousness, my sin.

I'm thankful for that gift, I'm thankful I'm forgiven, and I'm thankful there's more to my Easter than colorful eggs (and those statically charged strips of plastic basket filling that annoyingly stick to you)...

I hope you all have a blessed Easter full of times remembering our Lord and colorful finger tips due to dying eggs! (My husband and I are going to dye eggs tomorrow night...)