THE Resurrection

Mama said there'll be days like this, there'll be days like this my mama

said… Although, music lyrics are often quoted out of context, this one

always seemed to pop into my mind whenever something difficult or bad

happened. It carries the sense of acceptance and recognition that the

bad things in life happen to everybody.

As much as we might accept that line of thinking, there are some things

that challenge that blasé approach to things. Some things in life are

more dramatic and/or more difficult to accept. Some tragedies are so

heinous in nature you get sick to your stomach. Some trials that seem to

never end lead one to wish they were dead. And ultimately death itself

stares us in the face everywhere we go. Tomorrow is not promised to us,

and we can't escape the fact that the only thing certain in life is that

we will all die.

That's why I love spring. Spring is a reminder from God that new life

is possible. Spring is a reminder from God that what appears to be gone

forever, "springs" back into existence. Spring is a reminder that God

has not forgotten or forsaken us, but rather promises that He is still

here. In some ways, it is a mini-resurrection of life each year.

Hanging on to that thought, I don't think it is ironic that Easter also

falls in the springtime. Our celebration of this event is the

granddaddy of all Christian celebrations. Why? Because the Apostle

Paul said, "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even

Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our

preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then

found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God

that He raised Christ from the dead. But…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…If only for

this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men"

(I Corinthians 15:12-19).

Paul basically says that our whole Christian faith rests upon the fact

that Christ has risen from the grave. It's an established fact that the

tomb was empty come Resurrection morning. Many skeptics have tried to

explain away this supernatural event. But none have held water.

And why does it matter? Well, in I Thessalonians 4:13ff Paul exhorts

that for those who have died believing in Jesus Christ, there will come

a day that since Jesus was raised from the dead, so too they will be

raised from the dead. And a little later in I Corinthians 15:51ff, Paul

tells us that at the last trumpet, the dead in Christ will be raised

up. He then proclaims that when that event happens the saying will come

true, "Death has been swallowed up in victory." This truth brings hope

and peace to many believers around the world.

So join one of the Odessa churches this Easter Sunday and celebrate THE

Resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If you'd

like to know more about it, please talk to one of the pastors, they'd be

happy to share the Gospel message with you.