He is Risen!
These words often fall on deaf ears inside the walls of the church. They have fallen into the bucket of overused Sunday School clichés. It’s said many times around the Easter season, but rarely said with the truth and power that lies behind.
Bad news is easy to find.
We live in a world that is suffering. Our news is dominated by stories of ISIS and RFRA laws and mass shootings. People are protesting and arguing over every issue that comes up. Stories about genocide, starvation, disease and oppression flood the less popular news sources.
Bad news finds us anywhere.
We live in a world that is desperate. More and more millennials are walking away from churches, but it’s not out of disbelief. According to Pew Research 3 out of 4 of these millennials consider themselves in some way religious. They are searching in all the wrong places.
Bad news falls in our laps.
We live in a world where our neighbors, family and friends struggle. They get broadsided with divorce and death. They feel the weight of depression and poverty. There is a sense of hopelessness that exists down the street and in our homes. And we don’t know what to do.
But there is good news.
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
That is not just a meaningless group of words put together to evoke religious emotion. That is a truth that cuts deeper than our sorrows. It is a balm that can heal our wounds and suffering. It is a reality that God is good.
The Gospel is good news!
Because He is risen we can have peace. We know that the wind and waves that crash against our lives can be calmed by a savior who was not only present for the disciples, but is alive and present today.
Because He is risen we can feel love. There’s a love that is wilder than the passion of a lover, more honest than that of a child, more nurturing than that of a mother and more protective than that of a father. There is a love that caused God to empty himself completely and to suffer and die. A love that would rather go through Hell itself, than to watch us go through it.
Because He is risen we can know hope. This government can’t offer eternal hope. Schools can’t offer real hope. Economic systems can’t offer true hope. All of those systems will fail. There is only one hope that is true, real and eternal. There is only one hope that can change the heart of a man or woman. Only one hope can forgive you of sin. Only one hope can restore relationships, health and finances.
Because He is risen we have good news that is greater than any of the bad. Because He is risen we can live in freedom without fear.
Because He is risen we can know God and eventually see Heaven.
This Easter remember the true life changing and world changing Gospel.
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
~
Saturday, April 04, 2015
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