I have never run a marathon.

I could run a marathon. Indeed, someday I do hope to run one, though, let’s be honest, the chances of me, now in my 30s, running a marathon are about the same as me being named Queen of England.

Possible, but not likely.

The primary barrier here is that I am a man, and no man has ever been named Queen of England.

But the primary barrier to my running a marathon is more personal (and by personal I mean something I would prefer you didn’t know about me). I don’t want to go through the pain it would require to achieve my desired result. I would love to finish a marathon race; I just would not like to endure the pain of the first 25 or so miles. I want the results, just not the effort and sacrifice that go into achieving the results.

I’ve been thinking about this as I look toward the new Mel Gibson movie to be released this week called “The Passion of the Christ.” When I went to Sunday school, there were lots of Easter stories about the resurrection of Jesus (the result) and not many about the pain, brutality and sacrifice that Jesus endured prior to the resurrection (often referred to as The Passion).

Much of this is understandable – there is no need for little kids to be exposed to all the pain and suffering. And yet, as we move into adulthood we continue to prefer our Bible stories sanitized, all victory and good feelings without any pain and suffering.

And so our culture obliges, and the Easter story is sanitized more than a little. It is, to many, about Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies, and a trip home to see family. Even those of us who call ourselves Christians find it easier to celebrate the great message of the resurrection and ignore what led up to it – the brutal beating and humiliation of Jesus.

It is why I look forward – with anticipation but also with trepidation – to “The Passion of the Christ.” Part of me doesn’t want to see the movie – I prefer my picture of the triumphant, resurrected Jesus to that of Jesus beaten, mocked and killed.

But, I’ve learned, you can’t have one without the other. Both form a true picture of the real Jesus – the One who died so that all those who make a decision to place their trust in Him can have eternal life. He endured the beatings, the humiliation, the death – in order rise triumphant over death and sin. He went the distance.

Perhaps, like me, you have preferred your sanitized view of the Easter story. Or perhaps you are one who has never before placed your faith in Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life. Either way, I hope to see you there at “The Passion of the Christ.” If I’ve learned anything in my 30+ years, it is that one is never the same after getting a glimpse of Jesus as He really lived – and died – and rose again.

Brian Kolling works with SDSU Campus Crusade for Christ. You may contact him at Brian.Kolling@uscm.org

One of the most frightening moments of my life occurred when I was 6 years old.

I was with my family at Disneyland in California and I went with my mom on a hot-air balloon ride – not a real hot-air balloon, mind you, but a “balloon” car that was attached to a mechanical pulley.

The ride took a couple minutes ascending slowly above the amusement park until we could see for miles all around.

Peace rallies are in the news. With the outbreak of war in Iraq, people around the world are rallying for peace. Some do so in the name of Jesus. Indeed much has been written from a religious perspective about the rightness and wrongness of the current war and the hope for peace.

This debate is an important one but I feel compelled to write about a different peace. It is the kind of peace that Jesus talked of often.

Indeed, Jesus’ peace is a different kind all together: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

When Jesus speaks of peace, He often isn’t speaking about the absence of conflict between countries but an absence of conflict between each human and God.

Colossians 1:21 tells us, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” From the Bible’s eternal perspective, we are born alienated from God and as His enemy because of sin.

It is a war played out on a grand stage with eternal consequences.

God, in His great love, wants to end the war. The above Colossians passage also tells us “But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in the faith.” (Col 1:22)

I have learned that there is only one solution to peace in my war with God and that is my unconditional surrender, trusting completely in Jesus (and not my own efforts) to be reconciled with God and gain eternal life.

In this sense, there is no higher calling than being a peace activist in this war of the soul. Second Corinthians 5 tells us, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; … All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

So perhaps you are one who has been at war with God for a long time and now ache to be reconciled to Him through Christ? If so, He is waiting for your surrender, for your trust and for the reconciliation that can bring you eternal life with Him.

Brian Kolling is the minister for Campus Crusade for Christ. His views do not represent the views of the entire Campus Interfaith Council. Write to him at Brian.Kolling@uscm.org.

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