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The resurrection of Jesus allows you to live in light of death.
Years ago, I had the sober experience of being a pallbearer for a friend whose mom died. The time came for each row to pay their last respects. A gentleman in front of me scuttled by the casket as his eyes abstained from the body—receiving the strange feeling only a corpse can induce.
“I can’t look at a dead person. It freaks me out.”
It’s normal to shun our heads from the pale lifeless, but we will not live well by ignoring our own fate.
Death is unavoidable. But we try to live as if it won’t happen.
Based on his resurrection, Jesus offers a way of life that allows us to view death for what it is…tragic, ugly, dreadful, and overcome.
The resurrection teaches that death does not have to annihilate the possibility of future enjoyment. So life before death doesn’t have to be all that we want.
Happy circumstances and pleasurable feelings do not have to be the sole pursuit of our lives. Time doesn’t end when we walk through the door of death. So ease and popularity do not have to be your chief aim.
Besides, circumstances and pleasurable feelings are elusive. It’s rather frustrating. The target moves just before the arrow of our desire pierces the bulls-eye of satisfaction.
By thinking that death has the final say, we tend to make this life as convenient and desirable as possible. Sometimes, this means ignoring the wishes or needs of others. It could also mean amassing as much silver as possible or achieving as much control as we can.
At other times, this means we get mad when we don’t get what we want—especially at those who don’t do what we expect from them…and our expectations are always reasonable…
From the resurrection, we learn that this life is not able to give us all we want or even all we need. It’s broken. And we eventually die—life will be gone in this life. The resurrection began the fixing process, and it involves more than duct tape. Now we can have the freedom to live in light of death.
By embracing the resurrection life, we can shift our FOMO (fear of missing out on all that we can get out of life) into confidence in Jesus to do what he has promised us—give us abundant life that lasts forever.
The good life then becomes redefined from pursuing self-indulgence to serving others and enjoying God. Jesus exalted this meaning through his own resurrection, which was not for his own sake, but for your enjoyment—now and in the world to come.
Thanks,
Aaron