You are loved by God. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all historical facts, are proof of his great love.
Unpacking the impact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, enables us to see why it is unprecedented and unparalleled. First, because Jesus rose from the grave, it sets him apart in all of history - if he had not, he would have been just another good teacher, who maybe wasn't really so good, because he was a liar. 'Okay, I see that, but I really do not get what it has to do with me today,' she looked sideways at me, waiting for an answer.
Here it is, my friend--what the resurrection has to do with you today.
1. When you choose to follow the resurrected Savior, you become a new creation. Paul said it this way: "if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!"1 Forgiven of our sin and cleansed, we are no longer who we used to be. We are not who the world tells us we are . . . and not who we are in our own heads! We are who he tells us we are when we cast our lots with his--redeemed children of God.
2. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can have eternal life. I never tire of this truth: "For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."2 That is why the Gospel really is good news. [By the way, reading a different Bible translation of a familiar verse oft sheds new light on it!]
3. Resurrection means death does not have the last word. Again, Paul: But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.3 Death does not have the last word with you and me either; and not only will we rise, but we will see our loved ones who believed in Jesus again; we will be reunited with them. Say, but that is good news!
4. Because all things are made new in Christ, we are not bound by religiosity or the Law.4 If you have been under the oppression of rules and regulations of religiosity, this is particularly freeing. Ask a Muslim woman who has found Christ. Now she can pray even if she is on her feminine cycle, even if Allah forbid, she is wearing nail polish. Ask a former Orthodox Jew who no longer has to get rid of all leaven in her home for Passover, ask a Mormon who has tried to work out his faith or righteousness through upholding regulations imposed by religious people. Ugh.
5. Because of the resurrection, because we serve a living God, we not only can be renewed, we can be transformed! We do not have to be conformed to some rigid construct, or held in bondage to anything, rather we can be set free - even free from our own thinking.
Check out Romans 12.1-2. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012.1-2&version=NLT
And then I remind you today - wherever you find yourself in the world in whatever circumstance, Christian. . . first of all, God knows and he sees; second, you have the power of the risen Lord in you.5 Jesus told the disciples that they would do even greater things than he did because the Holy Spirit would be in them. Believing friend, that is you. You are not powerless--far from it. You have the Holy Spirit of God living within you; in him, you have strength, endurance, perseverance, self control and discipline.
Let me say it again ... you are loved by God.
With love,
Christine
1 - 2 Corinthians 5.17, NIV
2 - John 3.16, Christian Standard Bible
3 - 1 Corinthians 15.20, GNT
4 - Galatians 6.15
5 - Romans 8.11