Wayne Stapleton is the next to answer the question, “Why does Easter matter to you?” Until a few months ago Wayne and his wife worked as houseparents for the same organization where Maggie works. A few months back Wayne took a job as a pastor at Grace Community Church in Detroit. I’ve never been to Detroit, but when I get there I will enjoy catching up with Wayne.

Wayne blogs at Joy on the Journey.

The empty tomb means triumph to me. Triumph in an ultimate kind of way. It appears to me that the Christian faith does not only deal with what happens at or after physical death, but even explains why we die. Because of sin. I have not found an adequate explanation, or even an attempt at one, for why people die in any of the other major religions. But the Christian faith is robust enough to even explain death.

And the fact that Christ was resurrected shows the utter power of God to overcome the key fundamental reality that stalks all who live anywhere at any time. The defeat of death through the resurrection of Christ – the empty tomb – is cause for rejoicing in the victory of God over death, which is the final, ultimate effect of sin.