My Easter Post - Dr. Rich Swier

Today is Easter, the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who claimed to be the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament.

George Frideric Handel wrote about Him in the famous musical composition, Messiah, first performed on Easter Sunday in the Musick Hall in Dublin on April 13, 1742.

I believe Jesus is the Messiah. On September 13, 1981, I made a formal and public declaration of faith in Him. I believe He is faithful to show me how to live in this world, and I believe He will take care of me beyond my death.

I believe Christ loves me profoundly and that my being convinced of His love enables me to love and serve others.

My advocating for public education is inextricable from my faith, for through this blog and through my other involvements on behalf of public education, Christ enables me to contribute productively to my world and to care for people He created and loved enough to die for.

I believe in intelligent design. I am intelligent, and I came from Intelligence.

This month, April 2014, is also special to me in that this time last year, I was diagnosed with “a huge mass” in my abdomen. I wrote about the situation in detail in my Thanksgiving post.

This year, I no longer have that mass. The situation reminded me of the complexity of the human body, of how an issue with my abdomen affected my gall bladder, my nerve sensitivity in my upper chest, water retention in my legs, and pressure to my lungs, my lower back, and particularly my right side.

So much must occur in sync for my body to operate well, and when it operates well, I hardly notice.

When I was in pain from the tumor, and when I was facing the question of whether I might die from this (and particularly whether my mother would outlive me and how she would cope), and as I was having various tests leading up to my surgery, not once did I reach for Darwin’s Origin of Species for guidance or comfort.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

I am happy to use my intelligence, my wit, my senses of morality, decency, kindness, and altruism to serve humanity through my writings on this blog.

Happy Easter.