Resurrection: the action or fact of resurrecting or being resurrected; (in Christian belief) Christ's rising from the dead.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
John 11:21-27
The resurrection is what differentiates Christianity from every other world religion. God shows His love and authority over creation through the power of the resurrection. The only reason the resurrection is possible is because of Jesus death and ultimate sacrifice on the cross that defeated sin and death. The resurrection is what gives us hope and the promise of eternal life, which allows us to commune and be in God’s presence for eternity. Here are some thoughts that I have been wresting with on the idea on the resurrection
My first observation on the resurrection that with no resurrection, there is no Christianity. One of the biggest arguments that is used against Christianity is that Jesus didn’t actually die. He came close to death on the cross to the point of unconsciousness but He didn’t die. This line of thinking makes Christianity out to be a hoax, and that Jesus was a mere mortal who eventually died a natural death. Essentially with no resurrection, there is no Christianity and we have to redefine our views on God, miracles and eternity.
The other part to this thought is that if Jesus did make the ultimate sacrifice on the cross, and did not rise from the dead, we are still in trouble. Jesus sacrifice may have taken care of the Old Testament sacrificial system, but we are still stuck in sin. Jesus death gives us forgiveness for our sins, but His resurrection is what gives us the power over sin and death. In essence we don’t have to keep banging our head against the wall and continue to live in sin and making poor decisions.
My second observation that it is hard for someone or something to be resurrected if it is not dead. Whether it is life itself or a particular habit/characteristic, it can not be brought back to life if it still has a heart beat. Death can mean the loss of something or someone important and it even means that there is pain involved. How often do we pull a Martha and blame God for not showing up in time to fix or to protect us from something? How often do we try and keep something alive, whether it’s a relationship, an activity or moral character that we try to keep alive because we do not want to go through the pain of loosing it and having it die off. What makes death and resurrection so hard is that there is something that we need to change, and changing is not our strong suit.
My third observation is that we all have thoughts, attitudes, actions and speech that need to not only go away, but to die. These are characteristics that take the focus off of God and places it on ourselves and or others. These things either get us into trouble, or is not what God has called us to do. Either way, these things either causes us to sin. These characteristics often drives wedges into our relationship with God and or others, which causes alienation and even eternal issues if left unattended for a long time.
Resurrection comes in when these attitudes die and go away, something takes it place and are they holy things. If a smoker gives up smoking , but turns to food, not only is the addiction not dead, but one is trading breathing issues for diabetes and a heart condition. Resurrection means that the dead is gone and new life is being formed. It is replacing the destructive things in our lives with the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. It is things like love, patience, kindness, and self-control. Resurrection is Jesus providing a way for it to happen, and the Holy Spirit indwelling in us to make it happen because this is something that we can not do on our own. At salvation, we get all of God, and whether you call it maturing, growing in grace, or sanctification, this process is God getting all of us. This is where we give things over to God and He makes us a new creation.
My fourth observation is the idea that resurrection is different than recessitation. Going back to the story of Lazarus, Jesus did show His authority and Lazarus was raised from the dead. What makes recessatation different is that Lazarus died again. When we get to heaven, Lazarus will be there, but we have to realize the only way we are getting off this earth is either through death or if Jesus comes back, and death is the most popular option right now. Jesus was resurrected because He didn’t die again, but ascended up into heaven and is sitting at the right hand of God the Father and will come back again to judge the quick and the dead.
My final observation and probably my favorite is found in the letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church. Paul emphatically proclaims:
Death is swallowed in in victory
O death, where is your victory
O death, where is your sting
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law
But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through
Our Lord Jesus Christ
I Corinthians 15:54-57
This shows that God gave Jesus authority over all and that we can have hope not only in the future for eternity, but this hope extends to the here and now because of the resurrection. I have said it before and I will say it again, Jesus is not only our hope, but He is the resurrection and the life. This means He has authority in the future but He is in the business of making all things new in the here and now. This only can happen when we accept His grace and make Him the Lord of our lives. This means that we come under His authority and we participate in what He is doing in the here and now.
Questions to Ponder
What are those things in our lives that need to die?
What are those things that need to be resurrected in our lives?
Why do we struggle with death?
How often do we play the blame game?
No comments:
Post a Comment