GARFIELD — What a blessing it will be to celebrate Easter with my church family here in northwest Arkansas this coming Sunday! I am so looking forward to rejoicing with the assurance that Jesus is ALIVE! That is what distinguishes Christianity from all other world religions. The empty tomb says to the world around us that we are different. Our God is not some esoteric something or other that is “out there somewhere.” Neither is He some historical figure that lived at one time and gathered a following and then died. He is the sovereign Lord of the universe and He demonstrates this by His victory over the grave! Death is the final arbitrator is it not? Who of us will not face that day when we take our final breath?
It is a certainty that we all will one day die. However, for the Christian, because of Jesus and HIS victory over the grave there is the certainty of everlasting life.
Paul said it this way: 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NLT): “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.”
What a great word formthe Bible. No matter where we are, no matter what is our lot, we have great hope through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!
When we were fighting cancer with our son, Michael, there was a time when we were not sure whether he would live or die. However, we always had hope - not just hope that he would live, yet, hope that if God took him home that through the resurrection we had a great assurance that we would see him again. I am glad that he lived, but one day he, like all of us, will die. My hope is still as sure today as it was then, that because of Jesus and His resurrection I will see him again! Isn’t that the hope we have?
Thank you Jesus for conquering the grave and securing for me salvation - not only the forgiveness of sin, but also life everlasting! Be sure to celebrate this wonderful foundation of truth of the Christian faith this Sunday in one of our local churches. It’s Easter!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Always and again I say rejoice!
On behalf of our church family, I wish to you and yours a blessed Easter.
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Editor’s note: Jack Maddox is the pastor of First Baptist Church, Garfield.
Follow him on his blog at www.wordpress.jackmaddox.com, or e-mail him at [email protected].
Church, Pages 2 on 04/04/2012