With this day representing the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, it also gives us the promise of eternal life.
I always think back to a song called “He’s Alive” which I first heard performed by Bubba Cardin who is an old church friend at a church summer camp. The song gave me chills and excitement that Jesus is alive.
The chorus explodes with this proclamation:
He's alive, He's alive, He's alive, and I'm forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide
He's alive, He's alive, He's alive, and I'm forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide
If you’ve never heard this song, you need to listen to it. Here is a link to it: https://youtu.be/aidWs3tceYw?si=-WVgzQk9F2ByHEnv
We celebrate the resurrection. Jesus defeated death. While this means we have the hope of eternal life when we die, does it also mean some could be raised from the dead now?
I have wondered about that many times. The reality is that more people die than are raised from the dead but there are some situations where it has happened. I have heard stories but I have never had personal knowledge of anyone being raised from the dead.
When I was younger I experienced the tragic death of two young people in our church. Weeks after their deaths I was still praying for them to be raised from the dead. I believed it and I prayed earnestly for it to happen. It never did. That was hard for me to comprehend.
Even with stories of someone being raised from the dead, some will always come back with a scientific explanation on these accounts. Even if these stories are true, they will still have to face death again. The story of when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb is an amazing miracle but Lazarus eventually had to die again.
The resurrection power that Jesus has is the finality of death does not mean it is final for those who believe in Him.
Here’s what the Apostle Paul wrote in Corinthians:
But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:
Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?
Easter is the hope we have in the resurrection! Death is not the end.
