Believe And Live

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;

(John 11:25)

Meditation

How can this possibly happen? How does someone who’s died come back to life? How can you believe this will happen? Have you ever heard these questions? I used to sarcastically mock the holy rollers for believing in the resurrection fairy-tale. I believed we die, we turn to dust, and that’s it…nothing after that. I now think that to be such a sad way to think about our existence. To think that this life, this world, is all there is, no heaven, no eternity. We have a life of pain and misery, of disappointment and betrayal, for about seventy or eighty years, then nothing. At best, that’s a very bleak way to look at things. At worst, this atheistic viewpoint fosters real depressing thoughts that have to factor into the woes of our society.

The promised resurrection is not the reason I chose to believe in Jesus Christ, but I certainly look forward to that eventuality. Jesus died on the cross to take the burden of my sins, once and for all time. He rose from the dead to show me what my destiny is. So now, no matter if I pass from this life, I will live again in paradise. It’s not a fairy-tale or a pipe-dream. Believing in Jesus, and in his promise of an afterlife, is not trying to escape the troubles of this world. I used to be afraid of death, not because I was afraid of going to hell, but simply because it was an unknown. No one likes facing an uncertain outcome. I don’t have that uncertainty anymore because I have put my faith and trust in Christ Jesus. He has told me what’s going to happen, and I believe.

Fully one third of the Bible is about prophesy. Most of those prophesies have already been fulfilled. The ones that remain are yet in our future. This is a look ahead to the Resurrection Day, when the Lord will raise all those in the grave. From the dust of their entombment he will give them new, glorified bodies. They will be raised to immortality, to be with the Lord forever. If 100% of the past prophesies have been fulfilled, why wouldn’t I believe in the ones yet to come? If I believe God created the universe and everything in it in six literal days, why wouldn’t I believe he can resurrect the dead? That should be a relatively easy task for him. He’s not going to do it because we’re such good people and deserve it, but because he keeps his promises. Hallelujah!

Prayer Time

Oh, Lord God, founder of our love and faith, we praise and glorify your name. From your grace and mercy, give us daily protection from everything the devil throws at us. We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the blessed hope of the resurrection into life. We know, when our time here is finished, we can look forward to that wonderful day when our perishable bodies will be transformed into the imperishable, when we mortals will become immortals, hallelujah! Thank you, dear Lord, for the assurance of that hope. We don’t have to wonder about what comes after death like the unbelievers do. We know because the tomb is empty. Father, we believe you raised Jesus on the third day as the first fruits of the resurrection. You have shown the world you have the power over the grave and death. Thank you, God, for that promise of the afterlife. We confess Jesus is the Lord of our lives and he’s with you in heaven It’s in his name, we pray. Amen!