I did it again. Wrote the date with the wrong year again: 2015.

You’d think that by now, four weeks into the new year, I’d get it right. But every year I get to February before I develop the habit of writing the correct date. At least this year it’s easy to convert the 5 into a 6!

But on a more serious note, what are we measuring every time we write the date? This is the 2016^th year…but the 2016^th year from what?

The better question is, from who? The answer is Jesus.

The secular culture works hard to find ways to deny the identity of Jesus Christ, especially in reference to His birth and resurrection. Santa and the Easter Bunny have increasingly eclipsed Jesus.

They’ve even created a new way to mark the date. Instead of BC (before Christ) and AD (anno Domini – in the year of our Lord), they encourage use of BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era).

What they don’t tell us is what divides the two eras.

Once again, the better question is not what, but who? And the answer is the same: Jesus. No matter how it’s labeled,  we are measuring time by the existence of Jesus Christ.

All the denials in the world cannot change the reality of His amazing birth, attested to by witnesses who understood little, but the little they understood was enough.

All the denials in the world cannot change the reality of His amazing life. The only one to live a sinless life, yet die for the sins of others.

Finally, all the denials in the world cannot change the reality of His amazing resurrection. Proof that sin and death and the devil have been conquered. Proof that God the Father accepted the sacrifice of the Son on our behalf.

People can deny the truth about Jesus vocally and vociferously. But their denial does not change reality. I confess to more than a little pleasure every time I see self-identified atheists write the date. Whether they like it or not, whenever they do it, they are testifying to the history-changing life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As I consider all that the number 2016 signifies, I have a feeling it will be easier to remember to write the correct date!