I've been doing a lot of thinking about the Resurrection in this time leading up to Easter, as is appropriate, I guess. And I've kind of been wondering if I consider the Crucifixion more important than it. As I've thought about the Resurrection, I wonder if I have ascribed it a lesser place than the Crucifixion. Now, I admit that this might be the focus on Jesus' suffering that the Lent season brings, but possibly not.
You see, I wear a cross as do many Christians as a symbol of my devotion to Jesus. And the Cross is critical to understanding Jesus' purpose here on Earth, but it is not the sole reason for His coming. In other words, Jesus coming as a sacrifice for sin is not His only reason for existence. If it were, Jesus could have come as a fully-grown human, died on the Cross, and stayed dead.
What the Resurrection means, must mean, is that death is not the end. If what 1 Corinthians 15:20 says is true, then Jesus is the firstfruits of the Resurrection of the dead. And that means that death is not the end. That when Jesus talks about eternal life, it means that there's something after death.
Resurrection is a victory over death. Resurrection tells us that we don't have to fear losing our lives and we don't have to fear the end of them. Resurrection is hope, Resurrection is victory and Resurrection is Life. I hope today brings you a reminder of that life and the joy that can accompany it.
And as a visual reminder, I give you these done by a colleague at work for Otter Creek's Easter Celebration tonight:
4 comments:
Nice to have you back, my friend. Excellent thoughts. I wonder what a stronger focus on the resurrection would do to the identity and mission of our churches.
AE
Welcome back Phil.
Sounds like Adam has a podcast in the works....
I wonder if we come out of a mode of people that look at the cross so heavily because of the pain and suffering, etc. I wonder if it was used as a guilt factor (not taking anything away from the brutality of the cross). But in our minds did it become a "guilt trip" that we could show people (Jesus went through this because of the sins you commit each day...). Does this go in the mold of the "scaring people into heaven" idea?
Great thoughts by you Phil and a great "wondering" by Adam....
I too am glad you are back.
Well it sounds sort of stupid now to say "Glad your back". But, glad that your blog is alive again, of course not as glad as I am that He is alive again.
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