What does the resurrection of Jesus mean to His followers? Why is it important? Is it important?
For most of my life, Easter has had importance, but it has not been the most important holiday. In reality, it has been sort of second-rate to Christmas. At Christmas, I would get lots of cools stuff. The big guy in the red suit would bring whatever I asked him for and leave it under our tree (like the electronic truck that had claws that came out of the tires). On top of that, I would be out of school for 2-4 weeks. That was not the case for Easter. The huge tree with all of the gifts was replaced with a basket with candy and maybe a present or two, and we would usually only get an extra day off for school because of Good Friday. Now that I am grown up and have made a bigger commitment to follow Christ, how do I feel about Easter?
I think Easter is very important. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 that if the resurrection never happened then our faith is useless. If Christ did not rise from the dead then the Son of God is dead. I know, however, that Christ did rise from the grave and He has defeated death. This is great news, but it doesn’t end there. The resurrection has present and future meaning for us, as well. Let’s look at what the resurrection means for us today.
In Romans 6:4, Paul says, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Through our baptism, we have been put to death of our old self and raised to a new life in the same way that Christ was raised from the grave! That is great news! Christ gives us new life through our own resurrection in baptism. This baptism is not a one-time event, but we are constantly being renewed and redeemed in Christ. Through this new life, we are given a glimpse of the Kingdom of God, but this Kingdom will one day be more fully revealed.
Most of my life, I thought that heaven was a place that my soul would float around on clouds with angels. This is not the final destination that the Bible shows us, however. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that the dead will rise imperishable. We will be physically resurrected, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21).
Easter is good news! It does not just mean that Jesus was raised from the dead, but it also means that God is constantly redeeming and raising His creation to new life. Christianity is not about following rules to get to a certain place when we die, but it is about a loving God that desires to give us a full life. Easter reminds us of this fact.
Posts
