Moving Resurrection From the Past Tense - Easter Sunday
I’ve been a Christian for many years. And I feel like I’ve always approached Easter Sunday the same way: celebrating Christ’s resurrection from the grave. Celebrating what He did on the cross.
But this year, I’m
moving beyond the past tense. Experiences (from this year and the past few
years) have shown me that His resurrection is not limited to the past tense- it
was, yes. But it also is, and is to come. His physical resurrection
took place many years ago, but spiritually, Christ is resurrecting us even now-
and will continue to.
There is no way I can
compare to Christ, I could write paragraphs and pages about that. No question.
But my perspective on the Easter story has changed. I no longer see it as
history, or even ancient history. It is not one stagnant, unchanging event. The
Easter Story is the sinner’s story. It is humanity’s saving moments. It’s what
changes everything for us.
We have been there.
Certainly I have been there. In the garden. Begging for change. Overcome by
fear of what is to come. And whether or not we, like Christ, ultimately pray
that God’s will be done- it is done.
And at times, when
life was at its darkest- we have been there too. In the place of agony and pain
of the cross. Though we are never Christ-like here. Though our reasons are
never selfless.
The quietness of the
three days always follows. Numbed by grief, overcome with emotion. The worst we
have feared has happened and now…. Nothing. Fear. Anger. Sadness. And (as it
must have felt to His followers and family) those three days always feel the
longest. The most hopeless. It may feel like three days, or it may feel like an
eternity. But Sunday comes.
Christ was physically
resurrected from the dead that day, but the story doesn’t stop there. He also
resurrected the hopes and beliefs of His people. And one day, when our three
days are over, He will resurrect us too. He will resurrect us from the waiting,
the fear, the hopelessness, the doubt, the confusion. Just as His love, mercy,
and grace resurrect our sinner hearts from the pits of hell, in the moments of
darkness that plague our human, fallen, worldly lives- Christ’s resurrection
power is there, lifting us up.
So we aren’t just
celebrating the past. We are celebrating what He is doing now, and even what He
will do for us in the future. He has resurrected me from death apart from Him.
He has resurrected me from temptation, from wandering, from anger, all
throughout my life. And currently, as I wait in my three days now, resurrection
surely comes. Yes, He has risen. And with Him, through Him, for His glory- we
will also rise.
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