Addition and subtraction are pretty straight forward. 2+2=4, if you subtract the same numbers you end up with nothing. Unless you change the basic principles the answer is utterly dependable and always the same. A lot of things in life are like that as well. What you see is what you get. Life can be a lot like that. The same input gets you the same results. The people at AA carry this one more step; they define insanity as doing the same things and expecting different results. This kind of lifestyle math is just as ironclad as the numbers we learned when we were children and there is a ton of folk wisdom that keeps reminding us of it. One of my favorites is “life is hard… then you die.” It is a pretty hopeless equation. It creates a sense of futility that flows throughout most of our lives.

Lifestyle math is just as hard and irrefutable as arithmetic. Like they say; ”it’s all in the numbers.” This is why many people kind of give up and surrender to fate. The balance to fate, for most of us, is an insatiable lust for life and experience. We struggle against fate for as long as we can. Experience tells us, though, that in the end we will all loose. Science has a name for this kind of experiential math, it is called entropy. It is the second law of thermodynamics and in essence it states that without energy input from an outside source, everything goes downhill, or deteriorates. Arthritis is pretty much proof positive that this rule operates in our lives as well. Given this kind of pessimistic view, the question then becomes where can we find the hope needed to give us a positive outlook on life? If we keep in mind the AA definition of insanity we can’t just keep on keeping on, something has to change in order for us to get a different result. For me, that addition to the equation is Jesus. In him God allowed something from outside the system to break in. In the first chapter of John his coming is expressed in a way that easily fits into this lifestyle math discussion. John says that “in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5)

This is the Easter addition. Something radically changed that first Easter morning as Christ rose from the dead. New life, a new hope entered the world as the darkness of death gave way to the light of Christ, just as the first rays of the rising sun scattered the darkness of night.

In Terms of entropy, this is definitely energy from an outside source and it totally changes the equation. The old math still works, 2+2 still equals four, but Christ can now be added to the equation and the result shatter our old fatalistic world view. The old saying that life is hard and then you die can now have an entirely new significance. For now that Christ has risen from the dead everything is new. John in his Gospel gives us probably the most enduring statement of this Easter Addition. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16) New life, new hope and a new purpose in life are all ours by accepting this precious gift of God and adding it to the sum of our life. The light truly does shine in the darkness.

There is a cautionary note that I feel must be added to this understanding though. Remember the AA definition of insanity? “Doing the same things and expecting different results.” If you really make the Easter Addition a part of your life, things will change. If your lifestyle and the things you do have not changed it means that the addition has not taken place because you are getting the same old answers. Worship, stewardship, generosity, service, all of these and more are part of the Easter addition. It is also not an addition you can make once and then forget about. You have to live this out or it becomes a part of the AA insanity. It is like virus protection for your computer, even if you own the program it won’t help unless you download the updates. Unfortunately you can’t separate out the parts you want from the parts you don’t want because Jesus is a whole number in this kind of math.

As Easter approaches, check the math in your life. Make sure that the Easter Addition is a meaningful part of your life. Join us on Easter morning and we can download the new update together.

Pastor Jim Bliss
April 2006