The Most Important Aspect of the Resurrection

     What is the most important aspect of the resurrection for the contemporary Christian? I believe it is this: Jesus is alive. Because He is alive faith leads us not to a system of belief based on ancient texts, nor an ethical persuasion based on certain acceptable moralisms, but to a living, breathing, loving relationship with Someone who can receive our love and respond with love at all times and in every way.

      If Jesus were not alive, it might not be so important that I discover what his actual will is for me in the moment. If he were not alive I might be excused if I settle for a bit of self-interest and human wisdom when it comes to determining the values and course of my life. But Jesus is alive. That means, if I am to have a real and worthwhile relationship with him (him being God and all) I need to actively pursue his interests in my life. I need to seek out his opinion, his direction, his purpose for me and the life we live together. Because Jesus is alive I cannot in good conscience ignore his personal interest in our relationship, nor can I relegate his will to a mere passing consideration. If Jesus is alive (and he is), and if he is God (and he is) and if I have a relationship with him (and I hope you do), then I must bend my will to his, make his heart mine, and live and love as he does.

      If Jesus is alive (and you know he is) then he cannot be disregarded as a personality from history moldering in a grave somewhere, nice to think about but not particularly relevant to the current situation. If Jesus is alive, then by virtue of who he is, he must be first and foremost in the lives of his disciples. If Jesus is alive then he should be sought and found and surrendered to. If Jesus is alive, then those who put their trust in him must honor him as their living, current, present, active Savior and Lord.

     Jesus is alive. If you are married and your spouse lives, tell me, do you treat them as if their opinion is irrelevant, as if their presence were annoyance, as if their desires and hopes for your marriage are nothing more than a wearisome burden to be discarded and disregarded at will? Of course not! Why then would we treat Jesus as if he were only some old dead guy when in fact he lives? Why treat Jesus as if he is merely a bit of theological theory rather than a real, current, vital, vibrant living Person with whom we are deeply engaged in a meaningful and substantial relationship? We might treat him in such a way if he were entombed somewhere in the environs of far away Jerusalem, but he is not. He is alive. Jesus is alive.

      Jesus can be known. He can be loved. He can speak and be understood. His heart can be felt, obtained, and communicated. His thinking can be adopted in this day because Jesus is alive today and therefore relevant to a living world. Some live as if Jesus were dead and buried, depending on themselves and their thinking and their efforts. Some live as if Jesus is dead and cannot build the church, the nation, the Kingdom, or even a renewed heart and spirit. Some live as though Christ is dead and cannot function in the real world anymore leaving the path of accomplishment up to them.

     The greatest truth the world has ever known, and the most important aspect of the resurrection for contemporary lives is this: JESUS IS ALIVE! And his goal is to live in His people and in his church until the day he comes again. Look for it, because Jesus is alive.

What You Can Do in the Storm that Rages in Spite of You

Paul and Larry and I loved to hit the road to Nags Head when the hurricanes were landing. We were college students, single guys, with cars, and time, and more dollars than sense. Nags Head, on North Carolina's Outer Banks, was only a short drive from Norfolk, VA, maybe as far as Duluth from Grand Marais. We'd hear of an impending landfall and off we went, road tripping to meet the storm.

There is only one bridge to and from the barrier islands where Nags Head and Kitty Hawk are located. The sheriff's department usually turned both lanes into one way to the mainland as the storms came in, and closed the bridge entirely once the storm arrived. We had to get to the beach, do our gawking, and leave while the bridge was still open. If we waited too long, we'd be stuck on the island in a hurricane with no where to go.

It was worth the risk back then. There is something incredible and frightening about an advancing hurricane. You can see and feel the power in the wind, the surf, the clouds, the rain. You can see it, feel it, taste it, hear it, and smell it, but you cannot, not even in the least, control it. A storm is something that happens in spite of you. You can run and hide, but you cannot stop its onslaught nor divert its arrival.

Once, Jesus was in a boat with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee when one of the infamous gales that spring up suddenly and violently on that inland ocean overtook their skiff. The fishermen in the group fully realized the danger they were in. The boat was in danger of capsizing as wave after wave crashed over the gunwhales, the wind relentless in its assault. They were helpless before the power of the storm. It raged in spite of them and in spite of their Passenger.

The men baled. They did what they could. Finally, they went to Jesus, who had been sleeping the entire time in the stern of the boat. "Teacher!" they cried, "Do you not care that we are perishing?" They were terrified and more than a little desperate. Jesus woke up, rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still." And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Storms blow in spite of us. Life can take ugly turns and suddenly the winds of adversity or trouble overtake us, and there is nothing we can do. Well . . . almost nothing we can do. If you are facing a storm in your life today, you can do what Jesus' companions did. First, you can realize the storm is bigger than you and stop wasting time and energy on paltry efforts that might make you feel better but aren't going to save you.

Second, you can humbly concede that there are some situations that are beyond your control and require a power greater than you possess. Third, you can turn to Christ in faith, even desperate faith, because you know if anyone can save you, he can. Then, tell him what you need. Expect him to do something. Count on the fact that he loves you and because he loves you will act inyour life for the greatest good. You don't have to be calm, just be trusting.

The disciples saw Jesus still the storm, not because they attempted to save themselves, but because they turned to him and asked for his help. They experienced God's peace because they came to the right state of heart to ask Him for it.

Are you in a storm? Trouble raging in spite of you? Not much you can do to make it better? God waits to pronounce his peace in your life. Just turn to him in faith and ask.

That's the Good News.