Reality Through a Dead Bunny

The day before Easter, I woke up hearing my brothers giggling uncontrollably. Although I tried to fall back asleep, it just wasn’t happening. I came out of my room only to hear that apparently there was a dead rabbit on our front porch. “Look, look! You have to see the bunny! Its guts are spilling out right on the porch! Come look!” I really don’t know if they could have been more excited about it. Despite their obvious enthusiasm, I was okay with missing out on this momentous event of the season. Instead, I let them clean it up themselves and tried to forget about it.

Throughout that day, since it was the day before Easter, I remember reflecting on the Easter story and thinking about the reality of Christ’s death and resurrection. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and that He rose three days later, thereby overcoming sin and death for eternity. But sometimes we hear the story so much that is seems that a story is all it is; sometimes we fail to realize how real His incredible sacrifice was and how He is still really working in our lives today.

That day, as I tried to wrap my mind around the reality of Christ’s death, I was reminded of the reality of the bunny’s death. That grotesquely torn apart rabbit on my front porch was dead. Really dead. I mean, his guts were spilling out and everything! As dead as that bunny really was, I realized that 2000+ years ago my Savior was also that dead. And, like the bunny, His blood and guts were spilled out too. It was not a pretty sight. The rabbit on the porch made me realize that Christ’s death is just as real/historical/factual and gruesome as the bunny’s death; it’s not just a story and wasn’t easy for Him to do. Death is disgusting. But, in all actuality, Jesus did die. The good news, though, is that He conquered that death. Unlike the bunny, who after 3 days is still reeking in the trash, Jesus rose from the grave 3 days after His death. Really. He lives; He really lives!