If you’ve followed this blog in the last few months, you probably know that I’ve become obsessed with designing. It could be a pickleball theme, a Mahjong-inspired design, or something just for the sake of designing. And then there’s Easter. For Christians like me, this holiday… if Christmas is the Super Bowl, this one would be… the Pro Bowl? Not to cheapen it or make light of either of those holidays. Just a comparison on the level of importance. Easter really does mean everything. I guess that eliminates the Pro Bowl as a comparison, doesn’t it? Oops. OK, Christmas and Easter are both the Super Bowl. I’d even call Easter the cornerstone of the Christian faith because without it, we’d either still be doing things in Old Testament fashion, or simply have no way at all of righting what’s wrong. Jesus. A lot of people say a lot of things about him but what’s been pressing on my mind this Easter season is this:
Either he never existed or he’s always existed.
Some people say he’s just a story and was never a real person. On the flip side, if he WAS a real person, then he’s always existed (because he was with God in the beginning and came back to life and went back to Heaven where he lives now). Only one of those can be true. As I reflect and consider and research, I’m more convinced than ever that he’s always existed. With that in mind, I wanted to design something for Easter. I came up with this.
In the distance is the cross, the only thing on the entire landscape because if it’s true, what else could be added to make the message stronger, you know? The design of the sky background– the small repeating squares– consists of small text. Part of my favorite chapter in the Old Testament. Isaiah 53…
You also might have noticed the serpent a little more disguised in the sky. I wanted something out of the ordinary to help my design stand out. A serpent wasn’t really my first choice… for obvious reasons **ahem–the devil in the Garden of Eden** I thought about a lion, or a lamb, or some other animal that represents Jesus. But I know my limits. How am I going to design a lion? A lamb? I’m not THAT good. Then I found a few references of a snake in the book of Numbers. Moses made a bronze snake as a way to save Israelites who had been bitten by poisonous snakes after they’d complained. All they had to do was look up to the bronze snake and they were made well. It’s a foreshadowing of Jesus, anyone who looks to him for salvation will be saved. Boom. For my design, a bronze snake it is. See, that’s not so sinister!
In contrast to Good Friday, Easter Sunday is much more of a celebratory day because of the resurrection. My design for this is a lot more simple but still holds a ton of meaning. No body. There’s a double meaning with that word/phrase. For one thing, in the tomb that morning there was literally no body. Jesus came back to life and exited the tomb. The second meaning– nobody– is about all the people that knew his resurrection was coming shortly. Nobody. That’s an exaggeration, actually. Many, many people had hoped he was the Messiah and with hindsight now, it’s a lot more clear. But in the moment, hearts were broken and his followers and disciples were discouraged. They must’ve thought everything they were hoping for and everything they believed was a bust.
But then the “no body” thing comes back into play.
In 2026, there is still no body. I can tell you where Muhammed is buried. I can tell you where Buddha is buried. But I have yet to hear anyone discover the dead body of Jesus. And that really does mean everything.
-Out of the Wilderness
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Out of the Wilderness 