WE met Ann (not her real name) when we were in Turkey more than twenty years ago, and she had a very sad tale to tell. Her husband had died very suddenly, and she had been left feeling bewildered and bereft because he was planning to become a missionary. But Ann was far from being depressed.

In fact she was full of faith and hope and I realised why when she told me her story. It was a story that she repeated on national television a few weeks later.

Ann had been sitting beside his grave not long after his death pondering her future and despairing of her loss when two things grabbed her attention. The first was a rainbow and it reminded her that God always keeps His promises. Then, to her absolute amazement, she saw a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis and fly away into the sky. This rekindled her hope because the Bible contains the promise that just like Jesus His followers will be resurrected too ‘in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet’.

But did Jesus really rise from the dead or has that claim proved to be the most persuasive lie in history? I think that’s the most important question we can ever ask because in the final analysis the Christian faith stands or falls on the assertion that Jesus overcame death.

I must admit I find it a little surprising that so few people take the trouble to check it out for themselves, and I can’t help comparing that with the huge numbers who recently took up the invitation to be protected against Meningitis B. If the Easter story is true God has given us the antidote to death itself and not just a disease that can lead to death.

I dismissed the Easter story when I was a ‘hyper confident agnostic’ in my early twenties, but I was challenged to take a serious look at the evidence and given the importance of the issue I did. To my surprise I came to the conclusion that it is a credible historical fact, and that one distinguished scholar ‘hit the nail on the head’ when he suggested that if it wasn’t for the astounding nature of the claim no one would hesitate to doubt it.

History cannot force us to accept the Easter story of course, but it should challenge every one of us find a satisfying explanation for the empty tomb and the fact that a group of disillusioned, frightened disciples were convinced that they spent time with the resurrected Jesus who could suddenly appear in a locked room but also enjoy a hearty breakfast with them .

So, here’s my challenge: if you aren’t persuaded that He is alive, ask Him to do something to convince you that He is. If He can do it for Ann and for me, I believe He can do it for anyone.