April 12, 2009

He is risen! That's sort of the common phrase we use in churches around the world to commemorate Easter. Is He really though? I mean c'mon. From the dead really? The answer is a resounding yes but it might be a little more complicated than that.

I watched The Passion of the Christ film on Good Friday with a group of people from our area. We've done this before and it's been quite powerful each time. I end up almost speechless at the utter horror of Christ's sacrifice. And the interesting thing is that this was only the physical part of His suffering. He had to bear the weight of sin on His back spiritually as well. Unthinkable.

Back to the resurrection. The Work of Christ offers and promises us much. His suffering and death, His resurrection and His ascension back to the Father all mean things to we who believe but before He departed earth He told us what He expected us to do. Go into all the world preaching the Gospel to all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Work of Christ offers us all the same power that Jesus operated under and yet we fail often at actually doing the Work of Christ. Think about it. We have the power of Heaven backing us up and a clear mandate so where's the disconnect. Do we really believe in the resurrection? In our hearts? Do we understand what the resurrection means? It means He conquered death. Spiritual death and eternal separation from God is no longer on the menu for our future. The thing is.......it's on the agenda for an incredible amount of people everywhere we look and well within our reach. So is Jesus really alive? I mean is He really alive in you? Really? We're the body of Christ right? So if we're the hands and feet of the risen Christ who is living His life inside of us isn't it about time we started acting like it's true? I mean......unless......it's just for us to keep to ourselves and let those around us pass into a Godless eternity that is.

You may get sick of hearing this. I hope it's nothing more than a clarion call but it's time to get off our butt and live like Jesus is actually alive in us. As in right now. Today. What are your plans for offering the world a risen savior this week?

Onward Comrades,