Exhortation, Easter Sunday

From beginning to end, from Alpha to Omega, God is a God of life, a God of resurrection. In the beginning, He called into being things that were not. He cried out into the darkness of the first day, so that light dispelled the darkness. He spoke again, and plants sprang from the dead earth and fish swam in the turbulent seas. He raised up Adam from the dust to become a living soul, and He put Adam into deep sleep, tore a rib from his side, and raised him up to meet his bride.

When the bodies of Abraham and Sarah were good as dead, He opened Sarah’s womb and gave her a son. He brought Israel from the grave of Egypt, and rescued David repeatedly from the jaws of Sheol and wave after wave of enemies.

Through His prophet, He spoke to the dry bones of Israel in Babylonian exile, until the bones rattled and shook, came together bone to bone, took on sinews and skin, and were raised as an innumerable army. At the last, He will cry out again against the darkness, and will swallow up Death once and for all.

The resurrection of Jesus is no anomaly. It is not out of character. It shows that our God is utterly determined to defeat all our enemies, including the last enemy, Death.

The resurrection of Jesus was once-for-all, a unique event in human history. Yet, because of that event, resurrection life is leavening the world. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we have hope for the future, and hope for the present.

Every week, the Father calls us by the power of Jesus’ resurrection from the darkness of sin into His marvelous light. Every week, He breathes new life into dead dust as we confess our sins. Every week, He strips off the defilements of Death and brings us to a charcoal fire by the sea, where He feeds us.