Living Hope

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. (Matthew 28:1-8 NIV)

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

As our culture has become more secular, it has increasingly devalued life. Without God, this life is all there is, and that can easily make us cynical and hopeless. Without resurrection, life is futile. The Apostle Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 15:16-19:

For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

In so many ways, this devaluation of life has resulted in a culture of death. We see it in the glorification of death in gory movies, in violent video games, and in the increased number of incidents like the recent school shooting at Florida State University and the attempted assassination of the Governor of Pennsylvania by setting the governor's mansion on fire while the family was sleeping.

Over time, godless culture warps our souls. C. S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, says this:

"Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature."

The Good News is this: As Easter people, we can choose Jesus. We can choose life.

When Jesus walked out of the tomb creation itself reacted to His resurrection. There was a violent earthquake. His resurrection shakes up the very order of things. Death is defeated. Eternal life becomes the certain future of all who put faith in the Risen One. Raised from the dead, Jesus Christ is our Living Hope!

The guards shook and became like dead men. Life is shaken to the very core in the Presence of the Living One. When I gave my life to Jesus Christ as a teenager, the entire trajectory of my life changed forever. I encountered the Presence of Jesus, raised from the dead, and nothing could ever be the same. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!

The angel told the women, "Do not be afraid." There is no reason to fear death anymore. There is no reason to fear what the future holds. There is no reason to fear anything, because Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, is our Living Hope!

If Easter means anything, it means this: we can now choose life. We can choose life over character assassination in gossip. We can choose life instead of taking a life through an abortion. We can choose life rather than take our own life in assisted suicide. We can choose to live for eternity, and not only for here and now and comfort and pleasure. Risen from the dead, Jesus Christ is our Living Hope.

Phil Wickham's song, Living Hope, says it well. (Listen to it here)

How great the chasm that lay between us

How high the mountain I could not climb

In desperation, I turned to heaven

And spoke Your name into the night

Then through the darkness

Your loving kindness

Tore through the shadows of my soul

The work is finished, the end is written

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy?

What heart could fathom such boundless grace?

The God of ages stepped down from glory

To wear my sin and bear my shame

The cross has spoken, I am forgiven

The king of kings calls me His own

Beautiful savior, I'm Yours forever

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There's salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise

Your buried body began to breathe

Out of the silence, the roaring lion

Declared the grave has no claim on me

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There's salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ, my living hope

If you know this Living Hope, I hope you will choose to rejoice and celebrate this glorious resurrection day. If you do not know this Living Hope, I pray you will reach out to Jesus Christ, the Risen One, and give Him your life by faith. With this Living Hope, everything changes!

Happy Easter!