When the eternal God creates, the pinnacle of his creation
is man made in His image. He has perfect relationship with his image bearers,
and they have perfect relationship with one another. It is a beautiful picture.
That is, until sin enters in and mars the picture. Man and
woman turn their back on God deciding that they can take control of their
lives. Sickness, pain and death move into our once perfect world. It never
really goes well when we do things our
way, does it?
The image bearers are now hell-bound, slaves to Satan, sin
& death. Somehow being our own god isn’t quite what we expected it would
be.
Our bodies decay & die.
This was never God’s plan.
Enter God’s rescue mission that we read about in the book of
John. The second person of the trinity, the Word Himself, God in the flesh,
comes to live among us. He leaves His glorious throne in Heaven to accomplish
for us what we could never do for ourselves. He lives a perfect life in our
place, he dies a sacrificial death for us absorbing the wrath of God for all of
our rebellion. And God accepts His
sacrifice on our behalf and puts His stamp of approval on it by raising Jesus
from the grave. HE. IS. ALIVE.
So is the resurrection important? It is EXTREMEMLY
important. IT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
Jesus was raised from the grave never to die again. This is
different than the resurrection of Lazarus. Yes, Lazarus was raised from the
dead, but he would eventually die again.
“So is it with the
resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is
imperishable” 1 Corinthians 15:22
Jesus was given a body that would live forever. And the good
news? He is not the only one who will receive a new body. 1 Corinthians 15 also
says that he is the ‘first-fruits of
those who have fallen asleep.” This, my friends means that our bodies will
not remain in the grave when we die. Jesus’ physical body was resurrected from
the dead never to die again and if your faith is in Jesus, your physical body
will one day also be resurrected never to die again.
I think this is a truth in scripture that many pass over. We
talk about going to Heaven when we die, but we DON’T talk about receiving new
bodies (that are free from sickness & pain!) and living forever with God on
the New Heavens and New Earth. This is where scripture points. It is a glorious
reality.
You see, death is only a temporary separation from the
spiritual from the physical. Our souls and physical bodies will be united again
in the resurrection of the dead. Until then, we eagerly await the redemption of
our bodies (see Romans 8:23).
Jesus Himself will transform our lowly bodies to be like His
glorious body (see Philippians 3:20-21).
Are our lives shaped by this hope of resurrection? Here are some questions from John Piper to
ponder:
Do we make decisions on the basis of gain in this world or gain in the
next? Do we take risks for love’s sake that can only be explained as wise if
there is a resurrection?
Do we lose heart when our bodies give way to the aging process, and we
have to admit that we will never do certain things again. Or do we look to the
resurrection and take heart?
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by
day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight
of glory beyond all comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:16)
Take heart. This corrupt world is not the end. There is hope
coming and HE is coming soon. Come, Lord Jesus!
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