Resurrection people every day

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade
— 1 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV)

I know we have just ‘done’ Easter, but I couldn’t help but be challenged again about the need to walk in the light of the resurrection every moment of my life.

The Early Church talked constantly about the resurrection and proclaimed it over and over again. This wasn’t because they were that much closer to the event than we are now, but because they knew there was no life, no Kingdom of God, no church, and no future without it.

The reason the Early Church began to meet on the first day of the week was to celebrate Jesus’ defeat of death.

In an Easter sermon, St Augustine declared that we are ‘Easter people’. It was a call to live the resurrected life every day. Not just during the holy seasons of Lent and Holy Week, or when we take Communion. Not only when we feel like it. Every. Single. Day. How do we do this?

Living hope

I remember hearing a sermon where the speaker declared, ‘You can’t afford to have a single thought that isn’t infused with hope.’ Wow, what a challenge! That hope is the resurrection. It’s a living hope that doesn’t tarnish or decay.

Our thoughts and actions should be saturated with the resurrection. By this, I mean that we now look at everything through the lens of Jesus’ resurrection. Hard times — resurrection. Sickness — resurrection. Brokenness — resurrection. For sin — resurrection.

We acknowledge that Jesus has the victory, which means that the battle is already won, and we can view the world with hope. It also means that there is the possibility for new life and healing in every situation.

We let the promise we are given about tomorrow — and indeed eternity — fill our todays with hope.

Living the truth

Living in resurrection every day means that we can now extend forgiveness freely, having received forgiveness through the cross. We are able to live openhearted and free from any root of bitterness or shame.

Ephesians 4:32 reminds us to ‘Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.’ (ESV)

Living in resurrection means that we now have a mission and a purpose to ‘go tell’, as the angel declared to the disciples at the empty tomb.

We do not want to keep this good news to ourselves, but want to take every opportunity to share Jesus’ resurrection life with others. It is this good news that fuels everything we do at MAF.

Our vision was and is to see remote and isolated people changed by the love of Christ. Because Jesus is alive, no-one needs to live without hope.

For we are Easter people, and resurrection is our song — every single day.

Response

• Ask the Holy Spirit where you may not be walking in the fullness of the resurrection life Jesus offers. Invite Him into that area of your walk with God now.
• Are there some repeated patterns of thinking that you know feel devoid of hope? Ask Jesus to fill you with hope and give you a resurrection perspective.
• Is there someone you need to ‘go and tell’ the good news of the resurrection to? Ask the Holy Spirit to provide an opportunity for you in the coming weeks.
• Pray that MAF’s Gospel work will continue to bear much fruit.
• We love being able to give the gift of God’s Word to isolated communities, so do pray that everyone who receives the Scriptures will have a revelation of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.