Holy Places Are Dark Places: Having a Faith Thick with the Wonder of the Easter Story
Holy places are thick with wonder and sacrifice—where darkness meets resurrection and every Gospel story whispers, “This really happened.”
Last year, my husband’s family gathered for an epic Easter weekend at the Outer Banks. It was the first time all twenty-nine of us had been together in years.
The Outer Banks is known for its whispered legends—tales of shipwrecks and hidden treasures. Locals speak as if these stories have weight, as if they were more than myths passed down through generations.
Much like the whispered legends of shipwrecks and hidden treasures that define the Outer Banks, we, too, hear stories passed down—stories of miracles, of a God who walked among us. Some dismiss them as myths, nothing more than embellishments of history.
But what if these stories are more than legend? What if they are the foundation of reality itself?
And what about the greatest story ever told—the one that changed the world?
Thick with Wonder
The stories you heard as a child—the ones often told with flannel graphs in Sunday school lessons—are more than just stories. They are not distant fairy tales. They are true.
The pages of Scripture are thick with wonder—
Lepers leaped for joy. Water turned to wine. Lions’ mouths closed. The lame walked. Bushes burned. Plagues tormented. Dead bones came to life.
And at the heart of them all is the greatest story: Christ—His arms nailed wide, the temple veil torn, and an empty tomb declaring victory.
The writers of the Gospels could have recorded the story of a god who came to save the Jews and set up a kingdom on earth. Instead, this man, Jesus, walked among His people, healing those with sickness, washing the feet of His best friends. Dying on a cross.
One of these true, wondrous stories is found in Mark 1:40-42, where we see a glimpse of our Savior’s compassion as a leper approaches Him: “If you will, you can make me clean.” Jesus, so moved with pity, touched him and instantly the leper was healed.
This story reveals how Christ exchanged positions with the leper. Treated as outcasts in society, lepers were required to cry out: “Unclean! Unclean!”. Separated from loved ones, they lived alone.
Yet, in that moment of compassion, Christ traded places with the leper. From then on, He became the outcast, wandering in the desert. “Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places” (Mark 1:45).
Christ took the leper’s place.
This is the nature of our faith—it is not thin, polite, or sanitized. It is thick. Thick with love and wonder.
Have you ever felt like the outcast, whispering ‘unclean’ in your own way? This moment with the leper is for you— it reveals the very essence of the Gospel. The Gospel is the sum of all stories: Christ emptying Himself to become man, exchanging places with us.
The stories are true.
A Thick Religion
Ours is a thick religion. Thick with sacrifice. And thick with blood. Thick with the gift of the great exchange.
C.S. Lewis masterfully describes the wonder of the greatest story in his book Till We Have Faces:
“Holy places are dark places. . . Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water, but thick and dark like blood.”
Perhaps we need a little more thickness in our religion this Easter. A little more awareness of the savagery of holiness. Blood shed brought us life.
And not just any blood, the blood of the perfect sacrifice. The horror of the Holy One being slain. This mystery into holy things is thick with darkness.
As my daughters stood barefoot on the Outer Banks’ shore, I thought of this: holy places are dark places—but they are also where resurrection begins.
May we not settle for a thin faith, one that tidies up the mystery of the Gospel into something safe and explainable. Instead, let us embrace the thickness of what Christ has done—the horror and holiness of His sacrifice, the weight of His love.
This God-man stepped foot on earthly soil, touched lepers with his own human hands, bled drops of blood, crimson with love.
We woke Easter Sunday at the Outer Banks to worship our risen Lord as a family. It was a moment of awe I will never forget—singing hymns and reading Scripture aloud.
And in that holy moment, a peace settled upon me: All the stories are true.
May we believe the greatest story ever told truly happened–God exchanged places with man. Though this divine mystery of sacrifice defies human understanding, His blood, thick with love, was poured out for us.
Holy places are dark places. But dark places are also tombs where stones are rolled away.
In His Word
Meditate on Hebrews 10:19-22a, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh. . . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” Christ’s sacrifice provides the way for us to have a faith thick with the wonder of Easter.
In Your Life
Do you feel ‘thinness’ in your faith right now? Spend some time today meditating on the story that changed history. Ask Christ to show you the ‘thickness’ of what He has done for you. Thank Him for shedding His blood. What would it mean for your Easter morning to be thick with wonder?
We Recommend
The Marveling Studies by Chris and her husband, Tim. This online course is designed to help you cultivate wonder in your relationship with God and provides tools for creating healthy, God-centered rhythms for personal spiritual formation.
Let’s Connect
For inspiration on tending to heart and home, follow Chris on Instagram. She also writes weekly devotionals through her Mend membership newsletter on Substack.