6 But he said to them, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He isn’t here. Look, here’s the place where they laid him.
Reflection
Pastor Joe’s theme for the Easter message on March 31st was “The Truth of Easter – of Resurrection – is Worth Building On.
So, what would building on the truth of Resurrection look like? Could we say that if we allow the truth of the Resurrection to penetrate our soul in worship that we will experience a hope that can bring healing, joy and make us feel life is more worth living? The truth of the Resurrection is that God has the last word. The good news is that the worst thing, perhaps what you think of as unimaginably terrifying, is never the last thing.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet shall they live and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning, and the end, the first and the last. I died and behold, I am alive forevermore. Because I live you also shall live.”
We worship on Sunday. Every Sunday is Easter. Every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. Every Sunday we are reminded that we are people of the resurrection, and that God has the last word. This sounds like building on hope.
In the process of researching for this devotional I came across the following short story:
A Sunday school teacher wrote three questions on the board: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? The answer to the question was, “Science tries to answer the first question; philosophy tries to answer the second question; only Christianity answers all three questions.”
Evangelist Billy Graham said this to a crowd, “See this suit I am wearing? It is a brand new suit. My family said I needed a new one. So I bought one for this occasion and one more occasion. You know what that occasion is? This is the suit I am going to be buried in. But when you hear that I am dead, don’t remember the suit I am wearing. I want you to remember this: I not only know who I am, I also know where I am going.”
Graham knew the meaning and the promise of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It means we know where we are going. It means that life wins over death. It means good wins over evil. It means means God wins over sin. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means God has the last word. Only the Christian faith claims this.
Only the Bible teaches us that God is going somewhere with this world. The Bible teaches us that God has destroyed evil and death and given our lives purpose and meaning. When we say we believe in the resurrection we are saying the God can repair what is broken, raise up what is cast down, renew what is old, restore what has been ruined. God has the last word!
Thanks to Rev. Charlet Reeb of First United Methodist Church in Lakeland, Florida for making some of what I have used here available.
by Clarence Beverage
For Pondering & Prayer
Consider the concept that, no matter who you are, you were made for greatness.
Imagine that you can soar above the distractions of life that can take away passion, vision, and a sense of purpose.
Afflictions are temporary, eternal life is forever. Something to think on perhaps?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you did the unimaginable, you gave us the way to eternity. We pray for the strength, and the will, through you, to move to understanding this gift of love. Amen
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