All over the country today Christians are remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many would say that Easter Sunday is the most important day in the Christian calendar – although equally there are those who would say that they choose to remember Jesus’ death on a weekly basis when they take Communion. Whatever your personal opinion there is no denying that the resurrection of Jesus is the crux of our faith, and that we should think about it regularly.
Why exactly is the resurrection so important? Jesus sacrificed himself and died for our sins. He was buried, and he was restored to life again. Because of him, we can ask God for forgiveness for our sins, and Jesus acts as a covering for those sins to bring us closer to God.
The apostle Paul sums it up very neatly:
“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17)
Not only that but we have the promise of being resurrected ourselves when Jesus returns to the earth:
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-23)
Resurrection for me means the hope of eternal life at Jesus’ second coming. Those who have followed Jesus and God during their lifetimes will then be awoken to eternal life in the kingdom that will be set up on the earth.
Have you ever considered what eternal life means? I know that someone at work said to me once that they wouldn’t want to live for ever. But that’s because they are thinking of life in a frail, human body, and life full of human problems, emotional stresses, physical failings, and the problems of those around us. I can quite understand why such an eternal life would not be appealing.
Life in God’s kingdom will not be like that though. He has promised us a fantastic life in the kingdom:
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.” (Isaiah 35:5-6)
Everyone will be healthy and happy, with no human problems to plague them. We will have the time and energy to give ourselves fully to God.
What will we be doing for all eternity? We are not told all the details in the Bible. The Book of Revelation teaches us about the Millennium age, where for 1,000 years we will be helping to rebuild the earth the way God wants it, but it’s quite vague about what happens for the rest of eternity!
All we know is that God will be “all in all.” He will be in everything, and everything will be for him. We will serve him for ever and ever and we will love to do it! So this says to me that our life now is about learning to love God, learning to serve God, and learning to love doing those things, so that when the kingdom comes it will be a great joy to do those things for evermore.
So if today you have taken bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus sacrifice, and thought about forgiveness of sins, and the hope of immortality through resurrection, let us also consider as we go about our daily lives how we can learn to serve and love God to the best of our ability, and strive to do everything we can to bring about His Glory on earth.
Wishing you all a very Happy and Blessed Easter.
