Death is man’s legacy;
life is God’s. The Lord Jesus Christ said, "I am the resurrection and the
life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives
and believes in me will never die" (John 11:25-26).
Good Friday, when we
remember the cruel death of Jesus Christ on the cross, is a day that man made
because of sin. But Resurrection Sunday is God’s Day. He made it. Only the
power of God could have raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Man’s deepest
yearnings for life, power, and hope find fulfillment in the meaning of Easter.
Resurrection speaks of life. Jesus Christ is
alive today! Here in the northern hemisphere, Resurrection Sunday comes in the
spring. After a long, cold winter, nature comes alive. In the spring, one is
prompted to think of resurrection. It’s a new beginning.
Death is our enemy.
But life is ours in Jesus Christ. Death brings fear. The Resurrection gives peace. Thoughts about
death often lead to depression. The reality of the Resurrection leads to hope.
Death speaks of separation, but the Resurrection speaks of a life that is
indestructible, in union forever with the risen Jesus Christ.
The Bible says,
"When you were dead in your sins...God made you alive with Christ. He
forgave us all our sins" (Colossians 2:13). We are alive to God because
the risen life of Christ is our life. All of us who have Jesus Christ in our
hearts know that He’s alive. That’s why we love to sing, "You ask me how I
know He lives? He lives within my heart." The Lord affirmed, "I have
come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). That
speaks of His life in us!
When Jesus came out of
the grave, having finished the work on the cross, having shed His blood, having
taken the punishment for our sins on His own body, He was able to give us life,
because He was alive, risen from the dead.
Do you have this life? Have you experienced what it is to come alive
in Jesus Christ? Have you experienced what the Bible calls a "new
birth"?
To be born again means
that Jesus Christ actually comes into your life. Instead of being dead to God,
dead to the things of God, not understanding what God is like, you come alive.
You become a new person who can understand the things of God.
The Resurrection
speaks of life; not only the life of Christ, alive from the tomb, but also an
abundant inner life for us, here and now, daily.
Jesus Christ also
opened a way into heaven. We no longer have to
fear death, because we are united with Christ. A Christian has been resurrected
with Jesus Christ. Christ’s victory is our victory both now and in the future.
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ destroyed him "who holds
the power of death-that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14).
Resurrection also speaks of power. Before the Lord was raised from the dead, the
apostles were quite a miserable lot. What was wrong? What was it that they
lacked? They lacked power!
Until the Lord Jesus
was resurrected, was raised up into heaven and the Holy Spirit came down on the
Day of Pentecost, the apostles were still afraid and in hiding.
But on the Day of
Pentecost, Peter, who had earlier been afraid of the accusations of a servant
girl, stood up in front of several thousand people and said, very boldly,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit" (Acts 2:38). What brought on this boldness?
Peter now was filled
and empowered by the Holy Spirit! He had the risen life of Jesus Christ in him. The power that
brought Christ out of the grave is for us now. God’s power is not something
that we work up ourselves. It comes only from the indwelling Holy Spirit.
If you lack power in
your life, power to overcome temptation, power to witness for Jesus Christ,
then you need to allow God’s Spirit to fill you. You need to acknowledge His
life in you and let Him live through you.
The life of Christ
dwells in every one who by faith receives Him. Your life can be filled with the power of the
living Lord Jesus Christ. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,
but a spirit of power, and love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).
For those who know the Lord Jesus, that fact
is very real. The Lord is coming back! The Bible says that one of these days, we shall be changed
"in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed" (1 Corinthians 15:52). What a marvelous reality!
This is the hope that
the Resurrection gives you. We know we shall see the Lord Jesus face to face in
all His glory. Do you have that hope? Do you have that assurance? Do you know
for sure that you’ll see Him?
If the resurrected
Christ does not live in your heart and you die today, what hope would you have? There is no "reincarnation," no
"second chance." But if Christ lives in you, then there is the secure
hope of eternal life with the Lord Jesus, forever. "I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish," He has said (John 10:28).
If the Lord Jesus
returned today, would He welcome you into His presence? Have you opened your life to Jesus Christ?
You can receive the
Lord Jesus by a simple prayer of faith. Believe in Him, invite Him into your
heart, and become a child of God. Make sure that you will be part of that
resurrection day when the Lord Jesus comes back for His own.
Make this prayer your
own, quietly now, as you finish this article:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You that
because of Easter, You’ve made it possible for me to have a new beginning.
Thank You for Your death on the cross, paying the penalty for my sins. Thank
You for Your resurrection three days later. You’re alive and now You offer me
new life, power and hope here and now and for all eternity. Please forgive my
sins and make me part of Your family. I gladly receive You and put my trust in
You. Amen.
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