He is risen! Many of us celebrate Easter by going to church, having dinner with family and friends, maybe an Easter egg hunt or Easter baskets for the kids. But how many of us really stop to think what Easter really means? I mean, even beyond the fact that Jesus rose from the dead?
Listen to what the apostle Paul has to say about the Resurrection:
And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable (1 Corinthians 15:17–19 NKJV).
Wow, without the Resurrection, not only is our faith futile, but we as Christians are to be most pitiable; deserving pity. No wonder the world makes fun of Christians. They don’t believe in the Resurrection. They think we are crazy and should be pitied!
The Resurrection is everything. It is the culmination of the Jesus’ grand voyage to Earth. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, then He wouldn’t have been the Messiah, the Savior, and His death would have been in vain. Because He lives, so will His followers. Paul goes on to say further down in 1 Cor. 15:
If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (1 Corinthians 15:32 NIV).
In other words, “Party down! Let’s go plundering and gathering all the booty we can! We’ve got nothing to lose. If there is no Resurrection, we are all lost, without hope, existing in a dying body in a dying world. Nothing matters but self and living it up in the here and now.” Does this sound like the way most people in the world live?
As we meditate on Jesus’ grand voyage, let’s ask ourselves, “What will our Resurrection bodies be like?” We have a pretty good idea by looking at Jesus’ Resurrection body as our example because the Bible says we will be like Him.
Jesus had a real, touchable, physical body.
Jesus was recognizable.
Jesus could eat. (Cool, huh?)
Jesus could communicate and relate to others.
Jesus could appear and disappear at will.
Jesus could walk through walls.
Jesus could ascend into heaven.
Paul also says our new bodies will be powerful, spiritual, glorious, and immortal.
(Kind of like a superhero, eh?)
I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the more wonderful this new body sounds to me. So, I say raise the topsails and stun sails! Set all canvas to the breeze! I want to experience my own grand voyage into eternity.
MaryLu Tyndall