The vast majority of us believe in an afterlife. We all fret over our earthly trail of tears but simultaneously anticipate a heavenly joyride. The path, however, isn’t a straight shot from blah to bliss. As we make our way to the top of cemetery hill we will encounter a “Cross” roads where we must make a decision. We can either Survey the Wondrous Cross or arrogantly proclaim, “I did it MY Way.” One path ends in rejoicing because our dirty human robes have been washed clean by the blood of the lamb, while the other leads to an eternity of weeping and gnashing feverishly trying to scrub out a blood stain that we egotistically believe has soiled our divine vestments.

Adam and Eve got us into this mess by choosing a tree that left them naked and afraid, but we have been offered a new decision tree that will clothe us in power. We can follow in the arboreal footsteps of our ancestors and continue to harvest the deluded fruit of deification, or we can break the cycle of original sin and choose the tree upon which our Savior hangs.

Our life journey ends at a Customs station beyond which we can bring nothing. The Good News is that the declaration form has only one simple question, “What did you do with my Son?” I encourage you to do some afterlife planning this Easter and fill out your declaration form early so you can avoid the long security lines at Checkpoint Calvary and instead be escorted into the Pre Screening line where you don’t need to take off your shoe and have your soul inspected, but can instead run to meet a Savior who has Two Tickets to Paradise.