To be honest, this week has been a tough one. Each week I deal with the brokenness of the foster care system, but added to that, this week has been dealing with my mother’s impending hip replacement and hearing the news that my longtime childhood friend had brain surgery, suffered a stroke and now is expected not to wake up. His family is making the tough decision of when they will turn off life support. This world is broken. But Easter is coming.
Easter is about Christ’s resurrection from the dead. But what does that mean for us? Consider this verse from 1 Peter 1:3-4, “He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” These verses tell us that if we know Christ, his resurrection gives us hope. His resurrection gives us the hope that this life is not everything. Rather, Christ’s resurrection gives us access to a future life where sin doesn’t tear apart families, our bodies don’t break down and loved ones don’t die.
Do we believe in this resurrection? Do we live as if it’s a historical event to be celebrated, rather than a life altering transformation for believers and a source of future hope? John Piper says, “Believing in the resurrection means trusting in all the promises of life and hope and righteousness for which it stands.” Resurrection involves trust. True trust manifests itself in life change. Do I trust God enough to live my life as if the “here and now” isn’t everything, but that God will one day make all things new?
But let’s get practical. What could believing and trusting in the resurrection look like for me? If I believe in the resurrection I am a foster parent who realizes the system is broken but doesn’t get overwhelmed by it. I foster with trust in a God who can transform even the most broken individuals and the most hopeless situations. If I believe in the resurrection, I am saddened by my mom’s body breaking down but focus more on the day when God will give her a new body and she will no longer be in pain. If I believe in the resurrection, I can grieve for my dying friend, but rejoice and trust that soon he will be with his Savior.
What situations in your life require you to believe and trust in the promises of life and hope in the resurrection? Before we come together to celebrate on Resurrection Sunday, will you bring those situations to Christ, humbly asking Him to help you to trust in resurrection life and hope even in the midst of brokenness, pain and loss? As we do this, our celebration of Easter will become more than the commemoration of a historical event but a means of drawing us closer to the only one who can give us life and hope: Jesus.
