The Spirit of 'Thinking Different'

As for Us, We 'Think Different'

Something amazing about a regular column: The stories come to you kind of like the flowing of a river. Wherever your mind and life takes you from one week to the next, that also is where the pen takes you. You can tell a man’s life story by reading columns, especially this one, probably.

Speaking of that river—I got to thinking about America’s best backwoods poets over the past few days. He’s a surprising one, unless in your literature classes you got to know him well; but he is none other than Mr. Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. When Huck and Tom Sawyer looked down on a Sunday school picnic, Tom sees Arabs and chests full of jewels and treasure, but our poet says that, though he tried hard to see what Tom sees, all he could see was a Sunday school picnic. His summation was simple, “As for me,” he says, “I think different.”

That simple but profound summation brings us to where we are today. As the world gathered at churches all across the country to celebrate Easter, I thought of how the world views that particular weekend. Perhaps I think a little different on it. On one hand, we cannot help but wish people would treat every Sunday as Easter and not just put on their Sunday best once a year, as some do. But, on the other hand, aren’t we glad that people who can’t seem to get it in their minds to make worship a regular part of their lives at least pause long enough at least once a year.

I mean, the best way to start jogging two miles once a week is to jog it once. You have to start somewhere.

Maybe we think different, much the way our twelve-year-old backwoods poet thinks. But then we remember: Some of the greatest truths ever stated came “out of the mouths of babes.” Still true, just as the inspired writer said.

Here’s a little juxtaposition of two other related thoughts:

One, I believe the Bible teaches us to recognize every Lord’s Day to celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, that the early disciples came together every first day of the week for the Lord’s Supper.

However—number two—if the world did not designate one day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, then the atheistic and humanistic ways of thinking would gain a better stronghold on the minds of men.

That second point is where the river of our minds has taken us today, and we have an anecdote from a few years ago to bring that lesson back home to us.

I watched a news show that reminded me how easy it is for the world to question the truth of the resurrection of Jesus. You and I, I’m sure, believe it is the greatest event in the history of the world and that all of man’s hopes spiritually hinge on the truth of that event.

But most of us live in the Bible belt, and I sure even many among us and then others in other parts of the country and world question the event. That truth was hammered home to me several years ago while watching a national news program. It must’ve been fifteen years ago because I did not at the time know what Fox News was, and I’m pretty sure—though I can’t be certain—that what I saw was my first ever program I ever saw on that network.

I happened upon a panel discussion on one of the national news stations where the host asked several on the panel to share a great scene in history they would go back and witness if possible. One by one, the panelists recounted some great American moments they would revisit, such as Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you …” speech, or Martin Luther King’s speech at the great Lincoln Memorial.

But one panelist surprised the entire group when his turn came to speak.

He said, “I think I’d go back to the resurrection.”

The panel laughed loudly, thinking, “What a strange request! How could you go back to a scene that never really happened?” even though we know the resurrection is the greatest event in the history of the world.

I could not help but think at that moment: What a sad thing for a man or woman to live such a faithless life! The host of the show—in reaction to the previous gentlemen—said, “Well, I think I’d go back to the big bang.” That made the group as giddy as a group of silly school girls, and each seemed more than a little pleased with that countermove. They chattered on a good while about that response while the first gentleman sat quietly taking it all in.

When the chatter died down, he spoke, unwilling to concede to the notions he was hearing.

“Well,” he said boldly, “I guess I just think different.”

The room got quiet, then soon they were off on other tangents, but our friend had stood his ground, gently, but firmly.

It was refreshing to see a man there on national television in front of millions to subscribe to what the world sees as an old, archaic, out-of-date belief. I guess the angel’s proclamation that “He is risen” just isn’t enough for some.

Well, I’ll stand with our “out-of-step” gentleman. That belief may be out of date to the world, but it is not out of date to us! And it was not out of date to those four evangelists who wrote the gospel story—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and it was not out of date to those women who visited the tomb courageously but broken hearted on the resurrection morning.

Ah, to them, the truth of the resurrection was as real and commonplace to them as the fact that the sun rises and sets every morning and every evening.

When someone comes up to us and says, "Seriously? You mean you hold onto that old, archaic, out-of-date belief?" We can answer in the spirit of our young backwoods poet Huck Finn himself,

"Well, maybe you don't believe, but as for me—well, I think a little different."

April 6, 2026