April 6, 2026 by D. Paul Graham

Ever curious and always amused by the quirks of life, join D. Paul Graham each Monday for more M5T pondering.

“The Quiet Climb”. Easter Monday is about what comes next. The path is still uneven, the climb still real, but there is light ahead, and you know it now. Photo, D. Paul Graham, Palace Bussaco, Luso Portugal, circa 2017

There are moments when the Gospel feels like history, distant, important, but safely kept in the past. Then there are moments like watching the story of Christ unfold in a stage production called ‘The Thorn’. It didn’t feel distant at all. It felt immediate. Personal. Unavoidable. Something I was being pulled into. ‘The Thorn’ doesn’t just tell the story of Christ. It pressed it forward into the present tense. Into our present. It reminded us that the story didn’t end at the tomb. It continues in how we live, how we respond, and how we carry it forward. This morning’s M5T shares five things that hit close to home after watching ‘The Thorn’, all grounded in Scripture, and all a reminder that this isn’t just His story. It’s the one we are living in today.

1. THE CROSS WAS ALWAYS THE PLAN. It’s tempting to see the cross as interruption. As tragedy. As something that went wrong. A good man betrayed. A life cut short. But nothing about it was accidental. The cross wasn’t a reaction. It was the mission. Jesus didn’t stumble into the cross. He walked toward it. Every step to Jerusalem was deliberate. Every moment carried purpose. What looked like defeat was actually fulfillment. Not a reaction. It was redemption. The cross wasn’t the end of the story. It wasn’t where hope died. It was where eternity was secured.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ~ Mark 10:45

2. GRACE IS NOT SUBTLE. We tend to prefer grace in small, manageable doses. Something that we can understand, control, maybe even feel like we’ve earned it. But that’s not how God works. Grace is disruptive. Grace doesn’t arrive politely. It doesn’t wait for you to get your life together. It doesn’t negotiate terms. God meets us exactly where we are. In the mess, in the doubt, or in the places you’d rather not be seen. Grace refuses to leave us there. It interrupts your patterns, challenges your assumptions, and calls you into something better. Grace doesn’t whisper approval. It declares transformation. It says you are forgiven and are also being made new.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ~ Romans 5:8

3. WE SEE OURSELVES IN THE STORY. It’s easy to point at the characters in the bible, to study them from a distance, to assign blame, to wonder how they could have missed it. But if we’re honest, we’ve been each of those characters.

We’ve been Peter, confident in our faith until pressure shows up. We’ve been Thomas, wanting proof before we’re willing to believe. We’ve been the crowd, quick to praise when it’s easy, quick to disappear when it’s not. We’ve doubted when God felt distant. Denied when following Him was inconvenient. Drifted when the world offered something easier, flashier, or immediate.

The story isn’t just something we observe. It’s something we recognize. The beauty of it is that the same grace extended to them, is extended to us. Not because we got it right. But because He never stopped offering it.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” ~ Romans 3:23

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us.” ~ 1 John 1:9

4. THE RESURRECTION CHANGES EVERYTHING. Without the resurrection, the cross is just a sacrifice. A powerful one yes, but still an ending. A final act of love in a broken world. But the resurrection rewrites it. What looked like defeat becomes victory. What felt final becomes the beginning. The empty tomb is not a detail in the story. It’s the turning point of all of it. It means sin didn’t win. Death didn’t hold. Hope didn’t end on Friday. It means everything Christ said was true.

Every promise holds. Every word stands. The resurrection doesn’t just comfort, it confirms. Because of the resurrection, faith isn’t built on sentiment. It’s built on something that happened. Not a metaphor. A moment. And because He rose, we don’t just remember the story, we can live in the victory of it.

“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.” ~ Matthew 28:6

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:55

5. YOU DON’T LEAVE THE SAME. If Easter is real, neutrality isn’t an option. You don’t stand at the foot of the cross, or peer into an empty tomb and walk away unchanged. The resurrection doesn’t just invite belief. It demands a response. It confronts the comfortable parts of our lives. The routines. The excuses. The quiet places where we’ve settled for less than what we were made for. If He is risen, then this isn’t just a story to admire. It’s a truth to live under. Which means something must shift. Priorities realign. Identity deepens. Purpose sharpens. Not overnight perfection, but with undeniable direction. Easter isn’t asking for acknowledgment. It’s calling for transformation. You don’t leave the same, because you were never meant to.

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” ~ Galatians 2:20

Here’s to an Easter that doesn’t end on Sunday. It follows you into Monday and everything that comes with it. Because He is risen.

Paul continues to believe that Christ secured the victory and grace is what allows him to walk in it, even when he stumbles with shortcomings and failures.

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