What a great time of the year!

As you read this, Spring has finally sprung in the Tennessee Valley. Spring rightly brings hope. The message of Easter, another Major League Baseball season, blooming plants and flowers, new NCAA basketball champions, the Master’s at Augusta, and even knockout allergies all remind us a new season is here.

Easter is the heart of Spring for me. As a kid, Easter was a day to dress up in an uncomfortable suit and tie and get an Easter basket filled with chocolate eggs and a big chocolate bunny. I liked the chocolate part. My sisters and I would debate which was better – the hollow or solid Easter bunnies. I kinda liked the hollow ones and began starting at the ears and by the time I got to the feet there was lots of little pieces of chocolate at the bottom.Nice!.

It was only many years later that Easter took on its proper importance. My family was not very religious, but when I was in high school I realized something eternally important: Easter really happened. The reason I got those chocolate bunnies was because Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead, just like the Bible says.

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has served on the bench since being appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1975. He is known by his trademark bow tie and his strict desire for facts when making a decision. The walls of his office in Washington are covered with autographed photos of Chicago sports heroes, such as Ernie Banks and Michael Jordan. He also has an original box score of Game Three of the 1932 World Series between his beloved Cubs and the New York Yankees. Baseball enthusiasts might recognize this as the fabled "called shot" of Babe Ruth, when he pointed to centerfield and then proceeded to hit a home run in that same direction.

My dad took me to see the World Series, and we were sitting behind third base, not too far back, he said. Stevens recalled the Cubs players taunting Ruth from the dugout when he pointed to the outfield. "Ruth did point to the centerfield scoreboard, and he did hit the ball out of the park after he pointed with his bat." Stevens, who was twelve at the time, concluded, "So it really happened."

The "called shot" isn’t a myth. Judge Stevens knows this for certain. He was an eye-witness; he was there. It actually happened.

Years ago my Aunt Pat gave me a book by Bill Moyers called "The Power of Myth." It basically boiled all religions down to myths, stories, and fables. But I know differently now. Just like the Babe’s called shot that most people assume is myth, Jesus’ resurrection actually happened. Easter is more than dresses, hats, ties and chocolate. It’s true, it’s real. Before Luke wrote his Gospel, he took great pains to make sure his account was accurate and reliable.

"In as much as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught" (Luke 1:1-4).

C.S. Lewis was an atheist most of his adult life. He was one of the world’s experts on mythology. He read and studied Greek, Norse and other more obscure historical myths. When he first picked up the Gospels and read them, weighed out their claims, analyzed their literary styles and researched their veracity, he realized for the first time in his life they were true. He simply stated, "the Gospels are no myth."

"I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me." Christ’s claims are true. He doesn’t point to certain works to fulfill or prayers to pray. He points to Himself, He points to the Cross (Good Friday) and He points to the empty tomb (Easter).

I can testify, not as an eyewitness, but as a witness nonetheless, that this is true. Jesus is risen.