GodReflection: Power Words

“You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.” – Angel

“Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, we too might walk in newness of life. – Romans 6:4

Jesus’ death and burial was all about dead.

The Son of God died. The blood and the tomb filled in the canyon that separated God and humankind. Jesus entered the tomb as a corpse. He arose as the eternal Savior.

The death and burial make possible the future.

I never met a person who was dead—like three days in the grave then returned to life—until I met Jesus.

The witness record is strong. Jesus appeared on multiple occasions after his resurrection to many eyewitnesses over a period of 40 days.

Rather spectacular don’t you think?

Resurrection has my attention. Jesus is risen.

Since Jesus arose from the grave—I believed—and I too arose from the grave of baptism to life eternal. Paul called it “to walk in newness of life.”

Jesus resurrection has two huge implications for my life.

The first implication concerns my earth walk.  Since Jesus raised me to a new life, how do I live?

Here is how I see my challenge. I live in a world that reflects the beauty and the grandeur of Creator God.  At the same time, I live in a fallen world so flawed by Satan that its evils are greater that I can grasp.

I see enough evidence of God to believe His promise of care for me through the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Regardless of pain, loss, sickness, and the gazillions of weapons in the arsenal of Satan, I will be ok—not easy but ok.

As a resurrected one, I have the tasks on earth to grow in my trust of the Creator and to be Jesus in a fallen world.  I am to enjoy God’s creation while looking forward to the next and final resurrection.

After God’s Spirit raised Jesus, it became possible for Jesus to raise me through baptism so that I will rise again.

Jesus resurrection assures me the opportunity for life eternal at the final resurrection.

I marvel and regret how little my conversation throughout life revolves around the final resurrection.

Rather than equating heaven with a flawed, eternal church service, here are the implications of the final resurrection to the best of my understanding:

Number one – I will awake to perfection.

Number two – I will be a resident of a new earth and marvel at a new heaven.

Number three – I will still be me, but from that point forward, my body will be perfect. Pain, disease, medicines, hospitals, and death, will be past memories.

Number four – Peace and harmony will replace all evil.

Number five – Satan and his vocabulary will be absent.

Numbers six – I will be all God aspired me to be. Joy and fullness will penetrate every pore of my new body.

Number seven – I will experience the ultimate relation and fulfillment God intended for Eden.

Number eight – I will no longer wish I knew God more deeply for I will know Him intimately as my father.

Number nine – Along with the Angels I will be so overwhelmed with my eternal state I will cry out Holy, Holy, Holy.

Number ten – I will once again be in the presence of my earthly family and friends who lived by faith while on this earth. We will all live in new recognizable eternal bodies.

Finally, let me have license for a little speculation.  Since God is the creator of all that is good, I suspect all good we encounter upon earth will be available to us in heaven.  I anticipate beautiful mountains, lakes, and great wonders of the new world.

It seems logical that God will enhance the talents that already flow from Him to His creation. Why would not every gift God gave humankind on our current globe reach its fullness to glorify Him among the residents of the new earth?

How I look forward to the first of  eternal hot coffee times with saints of the ages.

Do you think Moses will like coffee?

Risen powers my walk.

Stay tuned.

Dr. Gary J. Sorrells – A GodReflection on Risen as a Power Word.

Gary@GodReflection.org