Hope of the Resurrection

Perseverance:

Hope embodies a driving force that enables you to overcome great adversities and withstand rigorous demands.  Hope empowers you to endure treacherous circumstances and defy overwhelming odds.  Hope is the essential element within the deafening chaos of hurt, turmoil, and strife.  Hope is the extra strength that catapults you toward light when the darkness consumes your very existence.  Hope is the fuel that allows you to endure life's heartache because hope promises you better days.  Hope is the last ounce of strength that calls you to continue to fight when everything and everyone else demands you to surrender.  Hope is the flickering light that is not merely an emotive encounter nor an undefined energy, rather hope is a Person—that Person is Jesus Christ.

The work of the cross has no bounds as the saints meditate upon the grandeur and galore of the atonement.  The beauty of the cross, where justice meets grace, is the centerpiece of redemptive history and the fulfillment of God's promise to restore, redeem, and reconcile a people for His Name. The cross is the apex of the biblical narrative, and yet without the resurrection the cross can be boiled down to martyrdom of a moral teacher.  The resurrection is the game changer and the substance of the outworking of the cross.  The resurrection is the victory that grants validity to the death of the Savior.  The resurrection is the impending hope that points toward the ever growing reality of God's perfect creative order.  Without the resurrection there is no Gospel, and without the cross there is no forgiveness.

We Will Rise:

While instant gratification runs rampant in our current cultural context, the New Testament writers press a message of endurance and steadfastness saturated in the work of Christ.  The charge for the community of saints is one which embodies perseverance, dedication, and a relentlessness toward holiness accompanied by suffering which will never be in vain.  All of this is connected to the ultimate reality that the resurrection of Christ awards the church access into the power source which transcends life circumstances and sets a gaze upon the greater truth.  To this end Jesus could say to His followers: "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt. 5:11-12).  Subsequently, the Apostles poignantly declared the decree to "rejoice insofar as you share Christ's suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed" (1 Pet. 4:13).

Adequate Fuel:

The truth circulating around the empty tomb speaks of death's inability to restrain the absolute power of Christ.  This allocates an overwhelming amount of confidence to the body of believers in the midst of severe affliction, and appropriates entry into greater works through radical obedience in the life lived in full abandonment for the sake of the Gospel.  The Apostle Paul insist that due to the reality of His resurrection the followers of Christ can "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (1 Cor. 15:58).  The hurts and toil of the church are never wasted in the purposes of Christ Jesus.

Promised Life:

The resurrection of Christ points to the reality that there is more than what this life has to offer.  It predisposes the community of saints to God's intended purposes while informing us that the riches of this world were never meant to fully satisfy our innate desires.  The Apostle Paul asserts that "[what] is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.  It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.  It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.  If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15:42-44).  Paul is pointing toward a greater reality that is beyond the suffering that must be endured for the sake of Christ. The end goal, ultimate pleasure in the glory of God, becomes a lofty incentive for the regenerate believer.

The hope Paul clings to is that we have been "buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4).  The newness of life is granted to us now on this side of eternity, but the fullness of that life will be embodied at the resurrection of the dead.  In glory, when we see Him face to face, the pains of this world will melt away in comparison to the satisfying pleasure in uniting with God through the blood of Christ.

Pressing On:

As the church continues to be enamored by the culture's ploy toward a man-centered theology, the robust doctrine of the resurrection grants the community of saints an ever-growing richness in the vastness of God's infinite might and unwavering love.  In an age where prosperity is the idolatrous device which lures men toward empty religion, God is stirring the regenerate believers toward the foundational work of salvation in the person of Christ.  Our hope is not cemented upon shiny coins nor hallow material, but rather upon the salvation that is mounted through the work and person of Christ.  His return will be the finished restoration of God's creation and the eternal reign of His Kingdom.

The resurrection of Christ reminds us that regardless of what season we find ourselves in today; whether that be an ugly announcement of cancer, a lost of a dearly beloved family member, a battle against severe depression, or the political uncertainty of our nation; that the eternal weight of glory that has been etched in the fabric of our existence will be fulfilled at the return of Christ.  Better days are promised and better days are coming.  Whatever darkness we may face on this day, we are reminded that we can endure because the tomb is empty and the Lord is risen! Happy Easter!

____________________________________________________________________________

McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (7 months).  He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years.  He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity.  He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.

The Worth of Christ

Prescribed Value:

In a consumeristic society where capitalism defines the value and worth of our material possessions, this conceptual element gives way toward our moral understanding of liberty and justice.  Take for instance, a brand new car taken from an automotive dealership looses its value once it exits the premise.  From a judicial standpoint, the outcry of "the punishment must fit the crime" mirrors the value of justice and the undergirding conviction of a moral objective truth.  Social outcries against ethnic injustices derives from a foundational understanding of human dignity.  The worth of a human being transcends the social and economical trends of our current cultural climate.  A young Hmong student, Dylan Yang, stabbed an assailant armed with what seemed to be a deadly weapon and potentially faces conviction and a life-long sentence.  While a caucasian man murders three individuals and could possibly receive a reduced sentence due to a plea of mental illness.  These examples form the basis on how the intrinsic value of human life play a tremendous role in the realm of justice.

God Came Down:

The same rationale can be placed upon the weight of eternal justice when the salvific and redemptive ramification are in view.  Some may pose the question of God's justice in light of so-called minor sins such as white lies.  How could God send people to hell for something as simple as a lie?  This does not fall into our definitive box of justice.  Yet upon further investigation one can begin to see the eternal worth of sin in light of the Person in which humanity has sinned against.

Treason Against the Creator:

Within the narrative of creation we gain access into the rebellion that is committed against the Creator.  The Scriptures clearly indicate that God is the transcendent being outside the time space continuum. Moses articulates this account in saying: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).  The implication that is mounted is two-fold: (1) God stands outside of time and orchestrates the beginning of the creative order, and at the same time (2) He is not reduced to the material world rather He creates ex nihilo (out of nothing).  As the Creator He is the ultimate Designer, Author, and objective standard to creation.

Therefore, the deception surrounding the words of God (Gen. 3:4) and the rebellion toward God's command against the eating of the fruit (Gen. 3:6-7) has direct correlation to His infinite value as the Creator.   The sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, was intrinsically linked to the devaluing of God's infinite worth and the trampling of His ultimate glory.  With God impressing the definitive standard of value by declaring, "it is good," the contrasting element arises when Adam and Eve valued their autonomy over God's life-giving Words.  The redirecting of worth is the undergirding reality which gives birth to sin.  James articulates this when saying: "each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (Jas. 1:14-15)

Consequently, eternal punishment is interrelated with the infinite value of God.  Eternal damnation, properly understood, is the seeking of justice for the treason or rebellion forged against the infinitely worthy entity—God Himself.  Eternity in hell equates to the treason that is committed against the eternal God.  To this end Scripture communicates that "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23).  Death meaning the eternal separation from the infinitely valuable life source, God Almighty.  To this end, the punishment does fit the crime, regardless of how we try to minimize sin.

Image of the Invisible God:

If this reality is true, then, humanity has an enormous weight hanging over their heads.  An impossible feat to climb and a hopeless chasm to leap.  The infinite value of God can not be reconciled by mere finite beings.  In light of our current situation, the fate of mankind looms disastrous unless there is an intervention of heavenly proportion.

Good News!  In the person and work of Christ this chasm as been leaped and this feat has been overcome in one bound.  In the person of Christ we find God incarnate, meaning God becoming flesh (John 1:14) in order to become our righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21) and to take our place in punishment (Isa. 53:5).  Jesus, who is the "image of the invisible God" (Col. 3:15) and the "exact imprint of His nature" (Heb. 1:3), paid the infinite value of our treason with the infinite worth of His being.  When looking at the cross of Christ we can not just acknowledge the redemptive work of Jesus (though it is monumental), but our eyes must be fixed upon the infinite worth of the eternal Son.  In doing so, we not only understand the sacrificial element of redemption and ultimately the biblical definition of love, but we are awaken to the infinite value of our reconciliation in Christ.  Our eternal reward is granted through His infinite value.  Our eternal life is fixed within His infinite worth.

Infinite Worth:

An elder once posed the question: "why do we call it Good Friday if our Savior died?" The answer looms in the fact that our Creator sought after us in such a way as to become a man and die on the cross for our salvation.  Good Friday is in memory of that day in which the bondage of sin was broken and the gift of life was granted.  The central emphasis of the Gospel's salvific work does not terminate upon the individual's confession, but rather in the Savior's infinite value.

The salvation in which the community of saints find themselves saturated in is not contingent upon the size of their faith, but rather the object of their faith.  The Good News is mounted upon the reality that the eternal chasm that separates creation from the Creator is reconciled through the eternal worth of the second person of the Trinity—God the Son.  In seeing and savoring the beauty and worth of Jesus Christ, we can begin to feel the weight and majesty of the cross.  In doing so, we can begin to rest in the finished work of Christ knowing that our eternal life does not start when we pass from this world, but rather when our eyes are opened to the new life we have in Christ Jesus today. Happy Good Friday!

____________________________________________________________________________

McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (7 months).  He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years.  He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity.  He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.