Investigate Easter - Dougal's Story 

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My name is Dougal. I am a Christian. I grew up in a Christian family, but I can guarantee you right now that I was not always a Christian.

I became a Christian in my early teens, almost a decade ago, but I’d just like to spend a little moment now to explain to you why on earth I’d decide to live my life as a Christian.

In the UK today, it is becoming increasingly less cool to be a Christian, it has a worldview that is counter to much of the culture around us, and is often painted as out-dated fairy tales used to simply prop up emotionally unstable people.

Why would a teenager like me, keen for popularity at school, keen to ‘make it’ in the world, driven to be successful in sport, society, and academia, desire to be, above all other things, a Christian?

It’s a very good question, and the answer is found in what Easter celebrates.

Whether you are a Christian or an Atheist, or somewhere in between, you will probably say something like: ‘Easter celebrates a man called Jesus, who claimed to be the Son of God, who died on a cross, and his followers claim he rose again three days later’.

And yet, that single man, dying on the vilest of torture instruments, has more followers than any other human in history, more books, paintings, films, debates and swear-words associated with him than anyone else. By far.

As a young teenage boy, I couldn’t simply ignore this. Yes, I wanted popularity, but this Jesus guy claims to be God, and if he is right, then that changes everything.

If I wanted to see what this Jesus guy was about, then I didn't need to look further than Easter. What Jesus said about Himself and humanity is perfectly seen in what he did on that first Easter weekend.

The Bible clearly states that man has rejected the source of life, God-himself. And the consequence for this is exactly what you would expect – death.

But Jesus, on that first Good Friday, bore the ‘death’ that I deserve. He didn’t need to die, because He didn’t reject God. And yet, taking upon Himself my sin, my wrongdoing, my rebellion and my shame, Jesus died.

But the story doesn’t end there. Good Friday is followed by Easter Sunday, and Easter Sunday celebrates Jesus’ resurrection. The core truth that all Christianity depends upon is this: Jesus rose from the dead. Defeating death and promising eternal life to all who would trust in Him, Jesus rose.

So as a teenager, this was where I needed to put my attention, and it is where you should put yours. Forget debates whether Christianity is ‘woke enough’, or ‘modern’ or ‘cool’, if Jesus rose from the dead, then the debate is all over. If Jesus is the Son of God, as He claimed to be, then what He says goes.

Suddenly, the debate flipped. It was no longer a question of whether I could squeeze Christianity into my life; because if Jesus rose from the dead well then everything else didn’t matter.

I started to listen to what Jesus said, I started to investigate the Bible and what it says. In doing so, I became convicted that Jesus is astounding. He is absolutely who He says He is. He is the Son of God, and He did die. He did die for me, and He did rise from the dead. He does promise that if I trust in Him, then I will have eternal life, and He is the King.

Easter celebrates something remarkable. I urge you, if you are not a Christian, to spend a little time this Easter investigating if Christianity is in fact a load of rubbish. I’ll put some links at the bottom of this blog where you can do some digging yourself.

For me, following Jesus was not the result of putting the facts into a calculator and coming out with the right answer. Following Jesus was not the result of being brainwashed as a child. Following Jesus was and is because I encountered in the Bible the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself up for me, so that I could have life, and have it to the full.

Has following Jesus for almost a decade been painless, easy, popular, or cool? No.

Has it been the best thing that has happened to me? Without a doubt.

The risen Lord Jesus transformed my life. Investigate Easter. Investigate Jesus. He might just transform yours.

- Dougal Burrowes, Church Member 

An eye-witness account of Jesus' life and death - Bible Gateway – Mark’s Gospel

Bethinking.org

Other Historical Evidence for Jesus’ Resurrection