Living the Resurrection

This is the Second Sunday in Easter. The Resurrection is something so huge, so marvelous that we can’t help but continue to celebrate even after all the chocolate and candy has been taken down in the grocery stores. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the gospel, and therefore it is central to all that we are and do. But it is not enough merely celebrate the fact that Jesus came back from the dead (though we must do that). We must also understand what the resurrection means. The resurrection means that our sins are forgiven and we stand before God with a clean conscience (1 Pet. 3:21). Therefore you may not hold grudges against your parents, your spouse, your children, or neighbors. Since you are free before God, you are called to give and bestow the freedom of forgiveness to all others. The resurrection also means that you are declared righteous before God (Rom. 4:25). This means that for all the faults God could justly hold against you, he has determined to only see you through and in his beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore you must go and do likewise: determine within yourselves that as God has been merciful to you, you will be merciful to others. As God only sees you in Christ and is pleased with you in Him, so you too are called to look upon one another and see one another in Christ and therefore be pleased and thankful for each other. This is the meaning of resurrection: all things have been made new. Therefore live in this newness. Every unforgiving thought, every bitter or resentful sentiment is to claim that Jesus is still in the grave, that he did not rise, and that God has not forgiven you. But Christ is risen.