Written by Bethany Christian Services
The most sacred Christian holiday of the year is approaching, and this article by Stepping Stonescontributor Valerie Enti, expresses a surprising connection between the heartbreak of infertility and the celebration of Easter. It is our prayer that her challenge to believers to think in new ways about Easter will be a blessing to you as you walk the difficult path of infertility during this holy season.
Imagine the surprise of Mary, Martha, the other women, and Peter and John when they saw the empty tomb on Easter morning!
How could that be? Jesus was dead and buried! His life was over. His followers were afraid of the authorities coming after them too.
The truth is that after three years in His Company—after being an active part of Jesus’ ministry—the disciples had a woefully incomplete understanding of who He was.
One of the many blessings of Jesus’ resurrection—in addition to the profound gift of our salvation—might be a blessing that is easy to overlook.
Our God, the Creator of the Universe, the Father of Jesus, is full of surprises. Yes, surprises!
Time and again, the Gospel reveals how our Savior responded to situations in surprising ways. For example, Jesus ate with known sinners, a behavior that was unquestionably frowned upon. Jesus challenged the men ready to stone the woman caught in adultery by writing a still unknown message in the sand that caused her persecutors to walk away. And instead of cursing the soldiers who crucified Him or the others who tormented Him at the cross, He asked His Father to forgive them.
The Gospel is replete with Jesus’ words and deeds that continue to challenge and surprise us today. In fact, as we strive to imitate Jesus, most believers struggle with the fact that the Son of God—the incarnation of Love itself—was beaten, betrayed, and broken by the end of His life.
It just doesn’t make sense. When bad things happen to good people, how can there be a happy ending?
I have no PhD in theology, but I do know this: Inconceivable cruelty was inflicted on the very best person in the history of mankind and, for a while, it seemed like all was lost.
But it wasn’t. The story wasn’t over. It didn’t end on Good Friday. Something profound, beautiful, and everlasting came from the death of Jesus on Easter morning: our salvation and faith.
So, what does infertility have to do with Easter? I cannot answer that for you, but I do know that ours is the God of Surprise Endings—amazing good can triumph over evil; celebration can follow suffering; and life can triumph over death. In His time and in His way, God will bless us.
This Easter season, when the very earth around us springs forth with new life and may be a painful reminder of our infertility, let us wait in anticipation of the blessing—the surprise ending—God has for us on the other side of our infertility.
For more information or resources on infertility or pregnancy loss, or to subscribe to the Stepping Stones newsletter, visit http://www.bethany.org/steppingstones.
The most sacred Christian holiday of the year is approaching, and this article by Stepping Stonescontributor Valerie Enti, expresses a surprising connection between the heartbreak of infertility and the celebration of Easter. It is our prayer that her challenge to believers to think in new ways about Easter will be a blessing to you as you walk the difficult path of infertility during this holy season.
Imagine the surprise of Mary, Martha, the other women, and Peter and John when they saw the empty tomb on Easter morning!
How could that be? Jesus was dead and buried! His life was over. His followers were afraid of the authorities coming after them too.
The truth is that after three years in His Company—after being an active part of Jesus’ ministry—the disciples had a woefully incomplete understanding of who He was.
One of the many blessings of Jesus’ resurrection—in addition to the profound gift of our salvation—might be a blessing that is easy to overlook.
Our God, the Creator of the Universe, the Father of Jesus, is full of surprises. Yes, surprises!
Time and again, the Gospel reveals how our Savior responded to situations in surprising ways. For example, Jesus ate with known sinners, a behavior that was unquestionably frowned upon. Jesus challenged the men ready to stone the woman caught in adultery by writing a still unknown message in the sand that caused her persecutors to walk away. And instead of cursing the soldiers who crucified Him or the others who tormented Him at the cross, He asked His Father to forgive them.
The Gospel is replete with Jesus’ words and deeds that continue to challenge and surprise us today. In fact, as we strive to imitate Jesus, most believers struggle with the fact that the Son of God—the incarnation of Love itself—was beaten, betrayed, and broken by the end of His life.
It just doesn’t make sense. When bad things happen to good people, how can there be a happy ending?
I have no PhD in theology, but I do know this: Inconceivable cruelty was inflicted on the very best person in the history of mankind and, for a while, it seemed like all was lost.
But it wasn’t. The story wasn’t over. It didn’t end on Good Friday. Something profound, beautiful, and everlasting came from the death of Jesus on Easter morning: our salvation and faith.
So, what does infertility have to do with Easter? I cannot answer that for you, but I do know that ours is the God of Surprise Endings—amazing good can triumph over evil; celebration can follow suffering; and life can triumph over death. In His time and in His way, God will bless us.
This Easter season, when the very earth around us springs forth with new life and may be a painful reminder of our infertility, let us wait in anticipation of the blessing—the surprise ending—God has for us on the other side of our infertility.
For more information or resources on infertility or pregnancy loss, or to subscribe to the Stepping Stones newsletter, visit http://www.bethany.org/steppingstones.
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